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Weekend Murder Happened Along CPS Safe Passage Route

By Emily Morris | August 12, 2013 7:36am
 A man was killed along a CPS Safe Passage route Saturday night. Here, an Englewood Safe Passage sign is pictured.
A man was killed along a CPS Safe Passage route Saturday night. Here, an Englewood Safe Passage sign is pictured.
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DNAinfo file photo/Josh McGhee

CHICAGO — A man killed on the South Side Saturday evening was shot along along a street CPS  designated as part of a Safe Passage route just a day earlier.

Ralph McNeal, 54, was shot along with a 26-year-old man in the 2900 block of South State Street in Douglas about 6:15 p.m., police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:10 p.m. Police said the 26-year-old man suffered a graze wound and was also taken to Stroger Hospital.

No one was in custody for the shooting as of Monday morning, police said.

The block is part of a safety route for student to take to Drake Elementary School. CPS released the designated routes Friday, a day before the homicide.

The paths are meant to take 30,000 students on patrolled walks to their new schools, and the additional routes came after the School Board voted to close 50 schools in May.

CPS declined to comment and directed questions to the Chicago Police Department.

Police spokesman Adam Collins said the Safe Passage routes have helped keep children safe on their way to school even in tough areas, and the new routes were selected after "months of review and discussion between CPS, CPD, parents, principals and community members."

"Ensuring the safety of our children is everyone's top priority," Collins said.