Chicago police are investigating whether a 9-year-old boy was intentionally shot to death on Monday or if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The boy, identified by his family as Tyshawn Lee, died Monday afternoon in an alleyway of Chicago's Gresham neighborhood. Police told BuzzFeed News officers arrived in the 800 block of South Damen Avenue around 4:19 p.m. and found the boy with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.
According to police, an argument involving multiple people took place in the alley. Someone pulled out a gun, fired, and then fled.
However, police said it's unclear if the boy was the intended target or if he was walking through the alley unrelated to the altercation.
On Wednesday, a man described as a person of interest arrived at a police station with his attorney to be questioned by detectives, CBS Chicago reported.
On Tuesday, several local churches announced they would offer an $11,000 reward for information leading to Tyshawn's killer. Pastors handed out fliers pleading for witnesses to come forward.
Rev. Michael Pfleger told the Chicago Sun-Times he believes the unknown assailant intended to hit the boy.
“This is not a stray bullet, not a drive-by — this is multiple gunshots to a child and only that one person shot,” Pfleger told the Sun-Times. “There’s no question that this is targeted and that it’s an execution.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to collect donations for Tyshawn's funeral. By Tuesday afternoon, the page had raised more than $10,000.
His mother, Karla Lee, thanked everyone who had shown her support. Through tears, she said she had never expected to bury her son so soon.
"I miss my son so bad," she said.