Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, have been charged as adults in Thursday’s death of Derrion Albert, 16, Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney, said Monday. Albert’s beating death with wooden boards is depicted in a video that has been circulating on the Internet, and police were using that video to gather evidence.
The video that runs nearly three minutes was shot by a teen girl who is a student at Fenger High School, the same South Side Chicago school near where Albert was beaten,The Chicago Tribune reported. The girl showed the tape to Albert’s family before turning it over the police and to a local Fox station, and has asked that her name be kept private because she fears retaliation, Eunice Cross, the grandmother of Albert’s half-sister, told The Tribune.
On the tape, Albert is seen being struck repeatedly with wooden boards and is shown on the ground. A woman’s voice is heard crying, “Derrion, get up!” over and over again.
The footage shot by the girl provided an additional vantage point to surveillance video that was shot from a camera on top of a nearby community center, The Tribune reported.
The three charged will appear in bond court Monday afternoon, Conklin said.
Family members believe Albert was beaten on his way home from school for refusing to join a gang. But some witnesses say he was only a bystander swept into a violent fight.
While authorities processed the three teens in the court system, mourners and other members of the public gathered outside Fenger High School.
The crowd was there to remember Albert, and called for an end to violence. Within that crowd, a pot of white flowers stood in front of two posters that featured photos of the slain youth. One poster was covered with handwritten memorials.
“Derrion, you will be missed,” one read.
The neighborhood around the school has long been plagued by gang violence, resident Mary Washington said.
“They’re killing our children, our hope for the future,” said Washington, 69. “When will it stop?”
Chicago police said they’re bolstering security around the high school, but they are declining to give details on that security plan. Several police vehicles were parked outside the school on Monday.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the beating, and the video turned over to them is being used in that investigation, they said. Police said the video is being used to identify people at the scene.
Ministers and anti-violence activists gathered outside the school Monday afternoon in advance of a vigil planned for later on Monday.
“I’m praying and hoping that out of this will come something positive,” said Rev. Martin Watt of the Disciples of Christ Church in Harvey, Ill.
