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Boys Shot in Kenwood Caught in Crossfire of Gang Dispute, Police Say

By Sam Cholke | September 22, 2015 8:31am
 Sgt. Monica Davis said police are still investigating a Saturday shooting at a community meeting Monday at St. Paul and the Redeemer in Kenwood.
Sgt. Monica Davis said police are still investigating a Saturday shooting at a community meeting Monday at St. Paul and the Redeemer in Kenwood.
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DNAinfo/Sam Cholke

KENWOOD — Two boys shot Saturday in Kenwood, one fatally, were likely caught in the crossfire of a gang dispute and were not gang members, according to police.

Youth organizers working in the neighborhood and police said neither Tyjuan Poindexter nor the wounded 15-year-old were affiliated with a gang and it was likely a case of mistaken identity in an ongoing dispute between neighborhood gang 46 Terror and rivals like Young Money.

The pair were shot by someone in a passing car at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4400 block of South Greenwood Avenue, according to police.

Rivals of local gang 46 Terror were reportedly searching the neighborhood Saturday for members who were known to be out celebrating, according to sources familiar with both gangs.

Saturday would have been the 16th birthday of Raheem Dameron, an alleged member of 46 Terror who was shot and killed May 24 in the 4400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Arieus Fitch, an alleged member of Young Money, has been charged with the murder of Dameron.

A series of shootings followed Dameron’s death and prompted Wentworth District Commander Terence Williams in July to peg 46 Terror as one of the major sources of violence in the neighborhood. He blamed the group for at least three shootings after Dameron’s death.

Williams did not attend a Monday community meeting to address violence in Kenwood at St. Paul and the Redeemer, 4945 S. Dorchester Ave., the second of the summer.

Neighbors complained about loitering near Kenwood Park, more than seven blocks from Saturday’s shooting and outside the gang’s reported territory of Drexel Boulevard to Woodlawn Avenue and 45th to 47th streets.

But surprisingly there were no questions from the group of about 75 about the circumstances of Poindexter’s death or what progress police were making in dealing with the gang the commander had promised to give special attention to in July.

“Just know the police are working on it,” Sgt. Monica Davis said unprompted at the meeting.

Police urged residents to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.

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