CHICAGO — A teenage boy has been charged in a West Town shooting that ended in the death of a White Sox vendor from Brighton Park.
The 17-year-old boy, who is being charged with first-degree murder as a juvenile, is accused of killing Nicolas Ramirez in the 400 block of North Ashland Avenue.
Ramirez's family said that the night before the April 19 shooting, he told his mom he was headed to a North Side party with friends.
About 2:30 a.m. on April 19, Ramirez was driving his SUV in West Town and stopped at a light when a Nissan sedan slammed into him, police said.
Ramirez crashed into two vehicles before hitting a median in the 400 block of North Ashland Avenue.
The driver of the Nissan then got out of the car and started shooting at Ramirez.
In April, police said they were investigating if the shooting was gang-related, saying Ramirez and his friends had gang ties.
But that's a claim his family said simply is not true.
There are gangs in the Brighton Park neighborhood, but family stressed he was not in a gang.
"Absolutely not," said his uncle Oscar Mendoza in April. "That definitely was not him."
Ramirez had graduated from Jane Addams High School and had been attending classes at Malcolm X College. He also worked as a food vendor at U.S. Cellular Field, a job he loved because he bled "White Sox blood," his sister, Julia, said.
Contributing: Quinn Ford.
