Teen charged with shooting and killing boy of same age in Highland Park
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) – A 16-year-old boy was charged late Monday with shooting and killing a boy of the same age in Highland Park over the weekend.
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force said Estiven Sarminento, of Highland Park, shot and killed Omar Diaz, also 16, of Highwood.
Investigators believe Diaz was an acquaintance of Sarminento's, and there had been an ongoing dispute between them.
Police said officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 2300 block of Green Bay Road around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Omar Diaz, of Highwood, died at Highland Park Hospital.
Police say Diaz was walking on the sidewalk and was approached by the shooter. The two had a brief conversation before the shooting.
Witnesses said the male suspect, dressed in all black, fled the scene on a bicycle. However, further investigation indicated the suspect likely fled the area on foot following the shooting.
A police K-9 tracked the offender's scent, but the smell was lost at a nearby road, police said.
However, authorities say recovered evidence, interviews, and video surveillance led them to conclude Sarminento had shot and killed Diaz. Sarminento was arrested by Lake County Major Crimes Task Force investigators and Highland Park police detectives on Monday, and he is charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder.
Lake County prosecutors said Diaz was on a Snapchat call at the time of the shooting, and a friend who witnessed the shooting over Snapchat later helped police identify Sarminento as the shooter.
Sarminento's bond was set at $5 million at his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Wednesday is the first day of school for Highland Park High School. District officials announced there will be increased security for the beginning of school. The district will start implementing a weapons detection system as students return.
The district released the following statement:
"For arrival on the first day of school, all students will still be required to present their ID upon entering the school as they did last year, and they should also be prepared to remove their computers from their backpacks because the weapons detection system will identify a computer as a weapon, requiring the student to be searched and delayed in going to class."
