DeKalb teen, 13, charged with attempted murder following Monday shooting: Police

DeKALB – A 13-year-old DeKalb male was charged Thursday with attempted first degree murder stemming from a shooting earlier this week in which another teen was shot in the back, police said.

A 14-year-old who allegedly also was involved has been charged related to the Monday afternoon shooting, DeKalb police said Thursday.

The days-long investigation follows a string of unrelated gun violence that’s plagued DeKalb’s north side this week, including a fatal shooting Wednesday outside West Ridge Apartment complex after an 18-year-old died after from a gunshot wound to the head. A DeKalb woman also was shot following what DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said was an argument outside a different Ridge Drive apartment complex Tuesday.

DeKalb police did not release the names of the teenagers because of their ages, according to a Thursday press release from the department.

The 13-year-old is also charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office. The 14-year-old is charged with mob action and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Additional charges are pending through the state’s attorney’s office, DeKalb police said Thursday.

More is now known about the midday Monday shooting which left a teenager in serious condition and forced a nearby elementary and middle school to enter into a temporary lockdown as a safety precaution, DeKalb District 428 officials said.

DeKalb police responded to reports of shots fired in the 800 block of South Eighth Street Monday around 3:15 p.m., where officers discovered a teenager with an apparent gunshot wound to the back, according to the release.

The victim, a male teenager, gave police a description of two suspects, and was taken by paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital and then transferred to OSF Saint Anthony’s in Rockford. Police said Thursday the teenager is expected to recover.

A witness to the shooting reportedly pursued the suspected shooters on foot, confronting them, the release states. The witness pulled a backpack off one of the alleged shooters. DeKalb police searched the backpack and found a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the release.

Police arrested the teens on Monday, and announced criminal charges Thursday around 1 p.m.

When asked whether the teenagers charged in the shooting were students of DeKalb District 428, Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said Thursday the boys, aged 13 and 14, are not currently attending DeKalb schools.

“Neither one of those teenagers have been in school this year,” Garcia-Sanchez said. “As of this year, neither one were in school in DeKalb.”

This story was updated at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 25, 2022 with additional comment from DeKalb District 428 Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez. Additional updates could occur.