A scholar chief with a formative years activist crew that has been outstanding within the push to take away police from Chicago Public Schools died Sunday morning after he used to be shot two days previous within the West Rogers Park community.
Caleb Reed, a 17-year-old junior at Mather High School at the North Side, simply weeks previous had spoken about his annoying enjoy with officials at his faculty at a information convention with public officers forward of a Board of Education vote on a $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department.
Late remaining week, officials discovered Reed mendacity on a sidewalk about 1 p.m. Friday within the 1900 block of West Granville Avenue, government stated. He have been shot within the head and used to be taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, in keeping with Chicago police.
Reed died on the health facility about 6:40 a.m. Sunday, in keeping with the Cook County clinical examiner’s place of job. Area Three detectives are investigating the capturing.
Reed used to be a scholar chief with the gang Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), which has been certainly one of a number of scholar teams advocating for the elimination of officials from CPS.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) described Reed as “a light in our community,” retweeting a publish from student-led anti-violence crew GoodKids MadCity that highlighted Reed’s activism.
Caleb lived and used to be shot in our ward this weekend. He used to be a gentle in our neighborhood that used to be extinguished too quickly. We wish to cope with the foundation reasons of #GunViolence in order that we forestall shedding our other people. I ask that folks lend a hand proceed the paintings he used to be doing and pray for the circle of relatives. https://t.co/WFWv9DXY2Z
— Andre Vasquez, Political Account (@Andrefor40th) August 3, 2020
“Caleb was a son, a brother, a community organizer, and a neighbor. His light and potential have been extinguished at the hands of gun violence, like so many others in Chicago,” Vasquez stated in a remark. “As a city we need to address the root causes of this violence, which is the segregation and disinvestment in the communities that need it the most for generations now.”
“Caleb was also an activist and advocate – most recently for the movement to remove School Resource Officers out of Chicago Public Schools. I ask that we honor his work by continuing it and we pray for his family,” Vasquez endured.
Reed spoke at a rally in June along different activists and Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) and Ald. Rod Sawyer (sixth) to protest the contract between CPS and CPD, which the varsity board quickly after narrowly voted to stay intact for now.
“My sophomore year of high school I was arrested for attending a basketball game because I didn’t have my ID,” Reed stated on the rally out of doors City Hall. “I sat in a police station for 6 hours. I knew it wasn’t proper in any respect, however within I used to be indignant, puzzled.
“One thing I’m here to say is I’m proud to be a Black young man,” Reed stated. “It’s not a good feeling to be labeled as dangerous or criminals. Because we’re not. … No Black person should ever feel like this.”
Contributing: Nader Issa