Laroy Battle Chicago man charged in the murder of South Side teens, Charles Riley and Jasean Francis. Gunman followed them outside convenience store after being asked how tall he is.
A Chicago man is accused of killing two teenagers at a South Shore convenience store after they asked how tall he was according to reports.
Laroy Battle, 19, allegedly opened gunfire on Jasean Francis, 17, and Charles Riley, 16, in a back ally around 5 p.m. on June 20 after they and a friend walked home from buying candy at the store — following a brief encounter with the suspect.
‘victims were very good kids from really excellent families,’
‘The victims commented, because, since Battle is quite tall, and they asked him how tall he was and you know, hoped to be that tall someday,’ Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan told via WLS-TV. ‘And unfortunately, obviously we’ll never see the full growth of these poor children.’
The teenagers, described as ‘very good kids from really excellent families,’ were reportedly asked by their mothers to buy candy at the store. They didn’t know Battle, but after asking about his 6-foot-3 height, he reportedly followed them out and fired nine rounds at the teenagers in a back alley, police said.
Francis was shot in the back, chest and left hand, while Riley was shot in the back and left leg. Both were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where they were pronounced dead. The third teenager was not struck.
Suspect had previous conviction for unlawful use of a weapon
‘He was a kid,’ said Latonya Pettit, Francis’ aunt. ‘Liked video games, snacks. That was his thing. He would walk into this hospital gift shop daily and purchase snacks.’
Battle was arrested after members of the community identified surveillance video of the suspect released by police, Deenihan said.
‘To the community members who stepped forward with information – thank you. Detectives were able to quickly identify Battle, but it was the help we received from the community that led to his arrest,’ Chicago Police posted on Twitter.
The suspect — who has three previous arrests and one previous conviction for unlawful use of a weapon — admitted that he was the person seen on camera but failed to offer a motive in the fatal shooting, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Laroy Battle, 19, Charged With Murder Of 2 Teenage Boys In South Chicago – CBS Chicago
Just curious… Is #BLM gonna go protest these killings? Asking for a friend. Guess not all black lives really matter. https://t.co/ydhOiBdsQm
— Instigator (@theinstigator64) June 29, 2020
Black on black violence
Riley and Francis were reportedly among 12 minors struck by gunfire during a violent Father’s Day weekend that reportedly saw 104 people shot in the city.
Violence in Chicago last weekend also saw 13 people killed in shootings – including a 1-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, reports say.
Battle was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance, according to cops. Police said Battle had a previous conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, for which he received probation.
Battle was denied bond Friday.
