The murder of 15-year-old Jovan Wilson, who was fatally shot during an alleged home invasion Friday night on Chicago’s South Side, has one of the state’s most prominent political personalities in deep mourning.
Wilson was the grandson of Congressman Danny K. Davis (7th), who learned of the shooting while in his office, according to media reports.
“It was unbelievable, unbelievable,” Davis told the Chicago Tribune.
In a statement released early this morning, Davis said that he was “saddened to report earlier this evening that two individuals forced their way into my grandson’s home.”
According to Chicago Police, Wilson was at his home in the city’s Englewood community with his uncle and three teenage siblings, a sister and two brothers ranging from 8 to 14 years old, when two teenagers, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, walked into the house and started arguing with Wilson.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that there “was a history between the young people involved and it was a dispute was over gym shoes.”
During the altercation, the 15-year-old shot Wilson in the head with a gun he had been carrying. So far, police said, the two assailants aren’t in custody.
“Unfortunately, this is another example of a fifteen year old with a gun who shouldn’t have never had it,” Davis said. “Where did the gun come from? How did he get it? And of course, he never should have had it.”
Davis said that “better education, more supervision, after school activity and better parenting” could have prevented his grandson’s murder.
“I grieve for my family,” Davis said. “I grieve for the young man who pulled the trigger. I grieve for his family, his parents, his friends.”
