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Teen Slain on Basketball Court Was Excited To Start New Job, Sister Says

By Josh McGhee | July 13, 2015 8:18am | Updated on July 15, 2015 9:27am
 Pierre Dobyne, of McKinley Park, was fatally shot Sunday afternoon in South Chicago.
Pierre Dobyne, of McKinley Park, was fatally shot Sunday afternoon in South Chicago.
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MCKINLEY PARK — When Pierre Dobyne left home to play basketball with his nephew over the weekend, he was stressed about one thing: what to wear on the first day of his new summer job.

"He was anxious to start work," said Brooke Dobyne, the 21-year-old sister of Pierre, who was shot dead on a basketball court in South Chicago Sunday afternoon.

"He had just posted on Facebook: 'What do you think. Should I wear a tie or not?' It made my mom so proud," the slain 19-year-old's sister said from the family's McKinley Park home. "He just felt like the doors were finally opening up for him."

Pierre Dobyne was slated to start work at One Summer Chicago, a city program that aims to employ young Chicagoans. But on Sunday, he headed to Russell Square Park to play basketball with his nephew, Brooke Dobyne said.

Around 3:30 p.m., witnesses said a man got out of a red minivan in the 8300 block of South Baker Avenue and shot the teen in his chest. The shooter got back into the van and drove away, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman.

Pierre M. Dobyne, of the 3300 block of South Archer Avenue in McKinley Park, was fatally shot near Russell Square Park Sunday afternoon, police said. [DNAinfo/Devlin Brown]

His first reaction was to swat the gun away, and when he did he was shot in his forearm, his sister said. When he tried to run away, he was shot in his back then again in his chest. He was shot at least four times.

"It sounded like he was targeted if there were other people on the court," his sister said, unsure why anyone would target her brother. "It's just hard. It's scary."

He was taken to Northwestern Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Estrada said.

Pierre M. Dobyne, of the 3300 block of South Archer Avenue in McKinley Park, was pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m., officials said. [DNAinfo/Devlin Brown]

"It's gonna be OK. Everything is all right," family told Brooke as she arrived at the hospital after rushing there from work, but she was less optimistic after hearing how many times he had been shot.

She sat at the hospital for what seemed like an eternity before doctors delivered the news to the family, she said.

"I was peeping through the window and I saw my sister running out. I just broke down," she said.

She said her brother was normally a homebody if he wasn't out at the courts.

"He loved to go to the park," she said. "Every day, he'd take his ball and go to the park."

No one is in custody for the shooting.

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