COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A 16-year-old high school student has been charged with murder following a fatal Little Village shooting.
Prosecutors allege Andrew Zamora, 16, walked up to a car in the 2400 block of South Sawyer Avenue about 4:30 a.m. Monday and opened fire — fatally striking 21-year-old Abel Ruvalcaba.
During a bond hearing Tuesday, Assistant State's Attorney Kim Przekota said Ruvalcaba was sitting in the car's front passenger seat and asked Zamora where he was from as the teen approached.
Zamora didn't answer, but instead "immediately and without provocation" pulled a gun and began shooting, Przekota said.
The car's driver sped away toward Mount Sinai Hospital, where Ruvalcaba would later die from his wounds, prosecutors said. Ruvalcaba was shot twice in his right shoulder, and an autopsy was slated for Tuesday.
The driver was able to flag down police on his way to the hospital, Przekota said.
Meanwhile, officers patrolling near 24th Street and Sawyer Avenue had heard the gunshots and responded to the scene of the shooting, according to prosecutors.
Police saw Zamora run north on Sawyer, across Cermak and into an industrial area, Przekota said. Along the way, the teen allegedly took off his shirt and tried to hide the shirt and gun in some weeds. Police witnessed this, Przekota said.
Officers recovered a 9-mm semiautomatic Glock handgun, and Zamora was positively identified by a witness who'd been sitting in the back seat of the car during the shooting, prosecutors said. Four 9-mm shell casings were recovered at the scene.
According to Przekota, Zamora admitted he shot at the car and ran from police. He also admitted he knew he was shooting at Latin Kings gang members and "that the test will come back saying he shot the gun," Przekota added.
Zamora, of the 4100 block of West 26th Street, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas on Tuesday ordered him held without bail.
Zamora's attorney said his client was a student at Little Village Lawndale High School, and that the teen had no criminal background. Zamora denied any gang affiliation.
Though Zamora was charged as an adult, the Chicago Police Department does not release mug shots of minors.
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