CHICAGO — Just as kids were returning from winter break to Duke Ellington Elementary in Austin Monday, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot a block from the school during school hours, police said.
The man was in the 300 block of North Central Avenue at 8:22 a.m. when he was shot in the chest, said Officer Kevin Quaid, Chicago Police spokesman. The man was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition before he was pronounced dead, Quaid said.
No arrests have been made, he said. The victim was a documented gang member, according to police.
The man was identified as Jeffrey A. Mattix, of the 400 block of North Central Avenue, in Cook County Medical Examiner's records. Mattix was pronounced dead at 8:58 a.m.
The shooting happened along a CPS Safe Passage Route, which are routes lined with crossing guards and other security measures to ensure a safe walk to school after the city shuttered 50 schools in 2013.
Duke Ellington Elementary, 243 N. Parkside Ave., is a block away from the fatal shooting. School hours begin at 8:15 a.m., according to CPS, or about 10 minutes before the shooting.
The creation of the Safe Passage Routes were not enough to quell some Austin residents' fears about student safety, according to a 2013 Austin Weekly News story. Parents were worried about students crossing gang lines, according to the report.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
