Around Rogers Park - Five-Year-Old Shot, and later Dies, in Howard Street Incident
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On Sunday afternoon, August 28, five-year-old Devin McGregor was shot in the head while sitting in his father’s car which was parked on the 7600 block of North Paulina just north of Howard Street. The shooter was sitting in the back seat of a Black Hyundai and fired the shots as part of a “drive-by” rampage that began and ended in just moments as the Hyundai shooter opened fire and then quickly sped away.
Devin’s mom rushed the boy to Evanston Hospital where he was admitted and put in critical care. Devin was later transferred to the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Sadly, the best efforts of the medical professionals were unable to overcome the damage done by these grievous injuries. Devin died a few days later, on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Although Rogers Park has grown accustomed to an increase in violent crimes and shootings along the Howard Street corridor and throughout the neighborhood, the shooting of the young child still sent chills through the community. He had just started Kindergarten in Evanston a few days before he was shot. His death leaves his family and his close-knit community reeling from shock and anger.
The city’s murder statistics swell as its image as a violent and dangerous place to live grows. Such violence is difficult enough when it involves the people actively participating in this violence. The death of an innocent child prompts an entirely different level of outrage, and one that is much harder to process or understand.
In an emotional email to RPBG members a day after the shooting, President Mike Glasser relayed his personal connection to the victims of this act of violence through his long-time friendship with North-of-Howard community member, Thomas “Bud” Sanders who knew Devon’s parents whom he describes as devoted to their only child. Mike relayed through his conversation with Bud that the shooting appears to have been targeted at someone with no connection to the McGregor’s. The intended victim fled the scene as quickly as the shooting began. But the shooter did not stop there, firing his high-powered rifle into the McGregor vehicle where the boy was struck by two bullets.
Mike quotes his friend Bud, who says: “The Howard neighborhood is in shock. People are hurt, and crying. Never before do we know of a North Side shooting where a child under the age of 12 is struck like this. We are shocked and so sad."
