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Teen Shot Dead in Gage Park

By  Emily Morris and Geoff Ziezulewicz | January 2, 2013 7:55am | Updated on January 2, 2013 12:38pm

 Devonta Grisson, 19, was shot dead in Gage Park on New Year's Day. Here, Grisson is featured dressed up for high school graduation in a photo from June 2012.
Devonta Grisson, 19, was shot dead in Gage Park on New Year's Day. Here, Grisson is featured dressed up for high school graduation in a photo from June 2012.
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Family

CHICAGO — A man whose family said just finished his first semester of college and had a baby on the way was shot dead in a Gage Park alley Tuesday evening, according to police.

Devonta Grisson, 19, was shot to death in the 5800 block of South Sacramento Avenue on the Southwest Side, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

The victim was apparently walking in the alley just before 5 p.m. when a gunman got out of a white SUV and approached him, authorities said. He fired multiple shots, striking the victim in his chest, police said.

Devonta Grisson was at his girlfriend's house and left that evening to pick up dinner, his mother, Akiya Grisson, said.

Akiya Grisson believes her son, who she said wasn't a "gangbanger," was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cops, however, said the shooting appears to be gang related and that Devonta Grisson might have had gang ties. No one is in custody for the shooting, police said.

Devonta Grisson leaves behind an infant son and another baby due in April, his mother said.

The 19-year-old just finished his first semester at Harold Washington College and enjoyed basketball and math, according to Priscilla Grisson, his grandmother. He attended Gage Park High School before that, his family said.

His last address was the 6700 block of South Artesian Avenue in Chicago Lawn, according to the medical examiner's office, though his family said he had moved.

Priscilla Grisson described her grandson as a "sweetheart" with a great smile.

"There was no reason for anybody to kill him," his grandmother said. "He didn't bother anybody. Everybody loved Devonta."

"It's just senseless," Priscilla Grisson said. "Why do they always got to take the good people?"

A man was shot dead about two hours earlier in Grand Boulevard, police said. Devonta Grisson was one of three people murdered on New Year's Day.