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Grayslake teen gunshot victim identified

Authorities have identified Zackary Bollam as the Grayslake teen who died from injuries suffered last week when he was shot in the head before a fire broke out in his home.

Zackary, 17, was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Grayslake police said Monday. The Cook County medical examiner's office released his identity Tuesday and said the cause of death remains under investigation.

Zackary was rushed to the hospital Aug. 22 after three Grayslake police officers pulled him from his burning home in the 300 block of Normandy Lane and discovered he was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

He was a student in Grayslake Community High School District 127, officials confirmed Tuesday. Members of the district's crisis team met Tuesday, and members of the counseling department will be available to support students throughout the coming weeks, according to a statement from the district.

"The district will continue to offer support and assistance for members of our school family as we all pull together and move forward in the midst of this sad loss," the statement reads.

Police say Zackary's grandmother and guardian, Deborah St. Antoine-Browne, 65, killed herself Thursday by jumping off the top floor of the medical center's parking garage after police questioned her about the teen's shooting.

Before taking her own life, police said, St. Antoine-Browne instructed Zackary's younger sister to ingest a bottle of prescription medication. The girl took some of the medication but then sought medical help in the hospital's emergency department, authorities said.

In 2011, Zackary was profiled in Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center's annual report. According to the article, Zackary, then just 12 years old, and his sister lived with St. Antoine-Browne and called her "Mom" because she had spent so many years raising them.

The article focuses on how the health department's Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services program helped Zackary.

Veronica Resa, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said Tuesday she could not comment on whether the agency had contacts with the family prior to last week's shooting. She said DCFS is investigating the case.

Officers and firefighters dispatched to the boy's home about 12:30 a.m. Aug. 22 found St. Antoine-Browne and her granddaughter outside the residence, but learned the 17-year-old was trapped inside. Three police officers ran through the smoke without safety equipment to find the boy and pull him from the burning house.

After the fire was extinguished, investigators recovered a .38-caliber pistol in the home, authorities said.

As part of the investigation, police interviewed St. Antoine-Browne at the medical center Thursday. Two hours later, authorities said, she jumped to her death.

• Staff writer Lee Filas contributed to this report.

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