Teen Killed On Front Steps Of His South Side Home
Updated 04/08/12 - 4:11 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A South Side family is mourning the loss of a 7th grader who loved basketball and making jokes. The teenager was shot and killed Saturday night on the steps of his home.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports 13-year-old Roberto Luna was hanging out with two friends at his home near the intersection of 46th Street and Spaulding Avenue when two males emerged from a gangway and asked if the three teens were in a gang.
The boys said no, but the two men opened fire anyway. Sources said fired shots from a range of closer than 15 feet.
Weeping over the death of his brother Sunday morning, Mario Lopez said, "I was alone three houses down. When I heard the first gun shot, I ran over here. I ran over here to try and get him. I was holding him in my arms. He was … he passed away in my arms. … They treated him like he was nothing."
Pressing his brother's photo against his chest, Lopez begged those responsible to turn themselves in for killing Luna.
"He was the kid who just made everybody laugh. … He was the joy of the house," Lopez said. "My brother didn't deserve to die. He wasn't no gangbanger. He wasn't nothing all. All he was, he was having fun on a Saturday, listening to his phone, and his friends running around; being a kid, a 13-year-old kid."
Luna was sitting on the front steps of his home with two friends when the gunmen opened fire, hitting all three boys.
The other two boys survived. Serafim Gonzalez, 16, was shot in the arm. Another teen was shot in the legs.
But Luna died from his injuries, his body riddled with bullets.
"He didn't deserve to die; especially shot 11 times. He didn't deserve to die like that," Lopez said. "I wanted him to grow up to be a normal kid. All he did was just have fun around the block; run around. Then these guys just came out of the gangway, just shot my brother like he was nothing, like he was a dog."
Lopez appealed to the killers' consciences.
"I just want these guys to turn themselves in, or just do something," Lopez said.
Police said the victims were not affiliated with any gang. The suspects might have fled the scene in a gray SUV.
The other two victims were being treated at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County on Sunday. They were listed in stable condition.
No one was in custody as of Sunday afternoon.
