Shooting suspect charged with first-degree murder in death of teen
A Carpentersville teen was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of another teen Thursday, police said late Friday.
Henry L. Black, 17, of 94 Birch St., was being held at the Carpentersville jail Friday night. He was due in bond court this morning.
The victim was identified as Aaron J. Razo, 17, of the 1700 block of Kingston Circle.
Razo, the oldest of 11 children, was hit in the back by a single bullet from a semi-automatic pistol, officials said. Both lungs and his aorta were punctured.
"It wasn't a random act; it occurred as a result of an argument between two street gangs earlier in the day that got out of control," Carpentersville Deputy Chief Michael Gillette said.
Three of Razo's friends who witnessed the shooting at the Golfview School playground at Wakefield Drive and Bristol Lane told police a purple SUV with tinted windows and four people inside pulled up around 7 p.m.
A man wearing one black glove got out, leaned over the hood and opened fire. Razo was hit.
East Dundee paramedics took him to Sherman Hospital in Elgin, where he was pronounced dead.
Police arrested a suspect within an hour of the shooting on the 0-100 block of Birch Street and said he was a member of a rival gang.
Both police and Aaron's stepmother, Patricia, urged residents of the area to be calm and reject street gangs.
"We would encourage our residents to report any gang-related activity to our anonymous tip line at (847) 551-3488," Gillette said.
Patricia Razo, 32, a hospital employee, said Friday the family had moved from Chicago and Glen Ellyn to escape street gangs.
She said her son loved the White Sox and wanted to be a graphic designer who did car detailing.
"The community needs to get together and clean this up," Patricia Razo said. "This gang stuff is just so much nonsense.
"I lost my son. The mother of the guy in custody lost her son," she said. "Both lives are wasted for absolutely nothing."