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Man Charged in Shooting Death of Boy, 13

By Erin Meyer | February 20, 2013 3:42pm | Updated on February 20, 2013 3:59pm
 Tyquan Tyler, a 13-year-old boy, died in his mother's arms while on summer vacation in Chicago.
Tyquan Tyler, a 13-year-old boy, died in his mother's arms while on summer vacation in Chicago.
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COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING —Almost a year after a bullet left 13-year-old Tyquan Tyler bleeding in the street, an alleged gang member has been accused in the boy's murder.

Nasean Flowers, 23, was taken into custody by officers from the Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force on Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of Tyler.

He appeared Wednesday in Cook County Bond Court, where Judge James Brown ordered him held on $2 million bond.

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Sexton alleged Thursday that Tyquan was standing in an alley in the 6200 block of South Rhodes Street at about 1:30 a.m., June 24, 2012 when Flowers appeared with a gun in his hand.

Sexton said Flowers is a member of the Gangster Disciples faction Jaro City Boys, which had been fighting in the area with another gang at the time of the shooting.

Flowers allegedly fired two shots, striking the boy in the chest.

At the time of Tyler's death, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office had a record of Tyler's address as being in the 6500 block of South Washtenaw Avenue in Woodlawn but the teen resided in East Moline, according to his cousin Sherita Jones.

His mother had sent him to live with relatives in western Illinois after witnessing a rash of violence on the city's streets.

On the night Tyler died, the teen had begged his mother to attend a party with his two sisters on the 6200 block of South Rhodes Avenue.

He was leaving the party  in a group when several men began to fire into the crowd, according to Jones.

The shots weren't for him, the cousin said.

Several memorial videos for Tyler have been posted on YouTube — many by friends of the teen.

His murder was one of four in that same weekend.