CHICAGO — A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the carjacking slaying of a retired Chicago firefighter earlier this month outside a Chicago popcorn shop.
Prosecutors say the teen, who is not being identified because he is charged as a juvenile, was part of a carjacking crew that had been working the area. On Dec. 3, the gang set their sites on 65-year-old Dwain Williams, following him in a stolen car to Let’s Get Poppin’.
“The time it took to follow and lay in wait for the victim shows a calculated plan,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Sophia David.
Surveillance camera video showed Williams walking toward his Jeep with a bag of popcorn in his hand, when is approached by two people with guns, authorities said.
Williams then retreats behind his car as one suspect rushes toward him with a gun. Williams pulls out his own gun and fires. The suspect falls to the ground, fires off a shot and jumps back in the car and flees.
In the altercation, Williams was shot in the stomach. He later died at a local hospital.
Authorities say the teen was unarmed at the time of the shooting and doesn’t appear to be the gunman who killed Williams. Police, however, have recovered a weapon and are testing it to see if it was used in the shooting.
The judge ordered him held in custody.
The gang’s stolen vehicle was found abandoned two days later. Prosecutors said DNA and fingerprints recovered from the car, as well as witnesses who identified him in still photos taken from surveillance footage, eventually led to the teen’s arrest.
He faces multiple counts of first-degree murder, as well as a count of armed robbery, officials said. No charges against any other suspects have been announced.
Cops say detectives are interviewing an adult, allegedly involved in the murder, and were still searching for two other adults.
Williams was a Chicago Fire Department lieutenant and retired about two years ago, officials said. He was about to return to work as a civilian employee at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
