Chicago park named for teen fatally shot in 2013

CHICAGO (AP) - A park is being named after the 15-year-old honors student whose name became synonymous with gun violence in Chicago when she was shot to death nearly four years ago.

On Saturday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly named Hadiya Pendleton Park on the city's South Side. The teenager was sitting at a park just a mile from President Barack Obama's Chicago home days after attending the president's 2013 inauguration.

The park formerly known as Buckthorn Park also includes a musically-themed walkway that features a trumpet and music notes, a performance stage and a lawn area for spectator seating. There is also a snare drum sculpture to honor 17-year-old Vonzell Banks, who was killed this year.