Hyde Park Academy student Eric Billups identified as teen killed in Woodlawn shooting

A 16-year-old boy who died after being shot in Woodlawn on Wednesday afternoon has been identified as a student at nearby Hyde Park Academy High School.

Chicago police said two 16-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were standing at a bus stop near 63rd and Stony Island, about a five-minute walk from school, around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, when someone approached them, pulled out a gun and opened fire. Both were rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center, the boy in critical condition and the girl in fair condition.

Billups was shot multiple times and died at the hospital. The Cook County medical examiner identified him as 16-year-old Eric Billups. 

"He wasn't a gangbanger. He was a kid that wanted to go to this school," said his aunt. "This is unacceptable. Kids should be able to go to school and live in peace."

The girl who was wounded was a classmate of Billups'. Police said the girl was struck in the leg and is expected to be okay. 

"Nice kid," said classroom assistant Clyde Caldwell. "I didn't teach him, I didn't have him in a class, but I saw him."

"Even though he was not my child, he was my child because when they come in that building, we love all of the students," Caldwell added.

Sources said there may have been a planned fight after school, but instead, the shooter came back with a gun.

Police radio dispatch reports suggested the shooter was wearing a Hyde Park Academy school uniform.

A growing memorial has grown on the spot where Billups was shot; photos, candles, flowers, messages from friends, all honoring a life cut short.

"I hate that I can't see him walk across the stage and get his diploma," said his grandmother, Jerri Billups. "I only have two grandsons, and I'm going to miss him, totally."

Billups was known as "EK" to his family, and his friends called him "King," his middle name. He loved football, video games and dressing up. Family and friends gathered to honor him at the bus stop where he was killed Thursday afternoon, releasing balloons in his memory.

"He was a good kid. He didn't deserve this. It's just, I'm heartbroken," said his godmother.

For family friend Lakashia Collins, the pain is all too familiar. She lost her own daughter to gun violence just months ago.

"Something is going to have to be done. We have to make a stand. Chicago has to stand up. We can't keep losing our sons and our daughters being gunned down in broad daylight," said family friend LaKashia Collins.

Billups was on the co-board of My Brother's Keeper, the initiative started by President Barack Obama in 2014, dedicated to helping young boys and men reach their full potential. 

"You're going about your day, it's after school, you're leaving school, which is a safe space, and now your life is taken senselessly on the streets. We have to do much better," said Vondale Singleton, My Brother's Keeper board member. 

His death follows the sudden loss of two other Hyde Park Academy students; Lania Smith, 18, was killed in a hit-and-run in Dolton earlier this month, and the week before that, 15-year-old Violet Harris was struck and killed by a car while riding an electric scooter.

"I feel hurt because we keep losing our young people," said Caldwell. "We keep losing our young people. Senseless."

Hyde Park Academy's principal sent a letter to parents last night promising to do everything in her power to help the school community heal, including calling in extra support from the district for students and staff members. 

No one is currently in custody for the shooting.