WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. — "He was the baby of my five kids," Kysha Davis said.
The Metro East mom said her baby, 13-year-old Johnny McCline, just wanted to have fun with his friends Saturday.
Davis said Johnny rode a bus to Washington Park, and then he and his buddies went to a convenience store near 45th Street and Bunkum Road.
"He was leaving the store, getting snacks," Davis said.
Witnesses told police just as the Fairmont City boy and his friends were walking across the street, someone in a white Jeep Grand Cherokee rode by, fired a number of gunshots at the teens and sped away.
Johnny died in a vacant field on Bunkum Road.
"I think it was a case of mistaken identity," Davis said.
Paramedics took her son's three, wounded friends – who we are told are 13 to 15 years old – to area hospitals.
"He wouldn't even out there an hour before he was killed," Davis said.
"It's pretty hard and I can't talk about it without crying. It hurts," Davis also said.
Johnny was a seventh grader at Mason-Clark Middle School in East St. Louis.
"Johnny was a good kid. He had good grades in school. He got along with everybody," said Curtis Johnson, the boy's stepdad.
"He was just so funny. He'd brighten up anybody's day," Davis said.
Illinois State Police have not determined a motive for the shooting.
"My baby girl could have been shot too," a neighbor, Shaneka Turner said.
Turner said a random bullet tore through her daughters' upstairs bedroom where one of them was resting at the time.
Turner lives at the nearby Roosevelt Homes Housing Complex.
"It's just a shame. I rushed home after my kids called me. These kids can't even walk to the store down here or come out here and play outside without gun violence. We have security cameras out here, but I would like to see Washington Park police patrolling this area on a regular basis," Turner said.
After several hours, Washington Park Mayor Leonard Moore got back to 5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend.
Moore extended his condolences to the parents and family of Johnny McCline.
Mayor Moore also said, "officers are doing their best patrolling Village of Washington Park and keeping the community of 2,500 people safe."
Meantime, the boy's parents pray for an arrest.
"I don't want anybody else hurt. I just want justice for my son because he did not deserve this," Davis also said.
On Tuesday, his family and friends will hold a balloon release.
Police are asking anyone who knows anything about the shooting to call CrimeStoppers at 314-725-8477.
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