Jeremiah Kimble was shot twice in the chest, once in the neck and once in the back. Kimble, a senior at Ace Tech Charter School, was by all accounts doing everything right and spending his summer working with kids.
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He survived the shooting, but has a long road ahead. He may not make a full recovery.
Kimble was on his way to his summer job in Hyde Park when he was shot several times walking on 47th Street near Prairie Avenue. It wasn't even 10 a.m. Police said a 22-year-old also shot. Police said it appears the older man might have been the intended target.
"I wasn't expecting this to happen to my child. I think my baby is at work," said Versie Kimble, the victim's mother.
Kimble is in critical condition, having lost a kidney and his spleen. Shot in the back, doctors still don't know if he'll walk again. He's undergoing yet another surgery Tuesday. His mother is beside herself with grief.
"Put these guns down. Please put them down. You're putting us through this right here. I don't want to come to here to see my baby, stretched out on no bed with tubes in his mouth," Versie said.
Detectives described Kimble as a "very good kid," a sentiment echoed by his supervisor at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Camp where Kimble worked as a junior counselor.
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The camp is part of the One Summer Chicago program. His job was supposed to come to an end Aug. 10, but they were hoping to keep him on.
"He's wonderful. He does pretty much everything around here. He's very much that kid who says, 'What can I do next? How can I help you? Is there anything I can do?'" said Christy Beighe-Byrne, of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club. "He was one of our chaperones on Friday at the water park and the kids were like 'Mr. Jeremiah, Mr. Jeremiah.' It takes a lot for kids to trust an adult and he is someone they really connected with."
Police have been reviewing surveillance video of the neighborhood to try and identify the shooter.
They are asking anyone with any information that might lead to him to please call detectives at Area Central detectives. CrimeStoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.