Family believes teen's killing near Hyde Park Academy stemmed from argument over vape pen

The family of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed while waiting for the bus near Hyde Park Academy High School said they believe the shooting was sparked by a minor argument earlier in the day at school.

Eric Billops' family said they believe that argument spilled out into the street and led to the shooting on April 15 near 63rd Street and Stony Island Avenue in Woodlawn.

Billops, affectionally known as King, was standing at a CTA bus stop just blocks away from school when someone opened fire several times and shot Billops around 3:30 p.m. on April 15. He died a short time later at University of Chicago Medical Center.

"It's heartbreaking just even riding past. I always have this memory of my godson being shot down after school," said his godmother, Janneil Stuttley. "Like, I just feel like it was personal."

A 16-year-old girl standing with Billops was also shot, but survived. Billops' family identified her as his girlfriend.

Stuttley said the family's understanding as of Thursday was that the shooting was sparked by an argument earlier in the day at school over a vape pen. 

"If that is true, that's crazy. I don't know. I don't know what to say about that. [Something] so little could cause something so big and so heartbreaking," she said. "It's kind of irritating, because they know who it is, but an arrest hasn't been made. I know that's like agony for his mom. But with it being so many juveniles involved, you kow, you've got to get parents' permission to speak to them. So i just really hope that it's all over soon."

Stuttley said it's unclear if the shooter had the gun at school or retrieved it afterward.

Billops' funeral has been scheduled for next week. His family has set up a fundraiser to help offset some of those costs.

"I just want people to know King was an honor roll student, all AP classes. He had colleges reaching out to him for football. His life just was snatched," Stuttley said.

Billops' family said an arrest will bring peace of mind, but it doesn't represent closure  

"They still have a son that they can still talk to and go visit, and my friend, she has to go to a gravesite," Stuttley said.

Including Billops, three Hyde Park Academy students have been killed since March 21.

Violet Harris, 15, died in a hit-and-run crash while riding a scooter in the South Shore neighborhood on March 21.

Lania Smith, 18, was killed in a separate hit-and-run crash in south suburban Dolton on March 30.

No one has been arrested in any of the three deaths.