Students hold peace walk for Pedro Ramirez, teen shot and killed in Back of the Yards

Students at Tilden High School in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood took part in a peace walk Thursday morning to remember one of their own who was killed in a drive-by shooting.

The students started on Union Avenue, the street that the school fronts. They walked to 51st and Throop streets, where a vigil sits for 17-year-old Pedro Ramirez.

"We hope that Pedro's memory of being a kind-hearted young man and a brilliant mind can live on through all of us," a student said. "We ask the city for justice, as well as peace from the community."

At 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, May 26. Chicago police said a dark sport-utility vehicle pulled up in the 5000 block of South Throop Street, and someone in the vehicle got out and started shooting. The gunfire hit Pedro, who was walking to school at the time, and two men — ages 55 and 61 — sitting in a nearby vehicle.

"We are not doing this alone. We did not do this by ourselves. The youth are the reason why this is happening," said organizer Cynthia Olivares. "They demanded that we make sure to have a peace walk for him, for his family members, and for any other person who was taken too soon."

Following the shooting, Chicago police did take one person of interest into custody. But they later released him, and as of Thursday, there was no one in custody.

It is not clear if Pedro was the intended target.