Juveniles Charged With Murder in Shooting of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis' Grandson: Cops

CHICAGO, IL — The 15-year-old grandson of a Chicago congressman was shot in the head and killed as he fought with two teenagers over gym shoes in his South Side home Friday night, according to police.

Javon Wilson, grandson of longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, was home with his uncle and three siblings when two teenagers entered the house in Englewood in the 5600 block of South Princeton Avenue just before 7 p.m., according to Chicago Police. The teen fought with the two assailants and was fatally shot, police said. At the time, the boy's mother had left the home to go pick up food.

By Saturday night, police had taken two juveniles into custody, and department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi called them suspects in Javon's murder. Detectives were questioning the juveniles, and first-degree murder charges were expected to be filed against them, he said.

The two juveniles — a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl — were formally charged with first-degree murder, according to a police statement Sunday morning.

Earlier in the day, Guglielmi said police had identified a person of interest in the case. He also clarified that the shooting was not random and not a home invasion as originally suspected, saying the minors involved were in a dispute over gym shoes.

In response to a tweet by Newt Gingrich, calling for a federal strategy to save lives, Guglielmi clarified that it was not a home invasion but a dispute among teens over gym shoes that ended in a senseless shooting.

The Chicago Tribune reported the teenage assailants were a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl. Davis told the Tribune his grandson was shot by the 15-year-old boy. Police have not released information concerning the juveniles in custody.

Davis spoke to the Tribune as he was on his way to Area South police headquarters.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable," Davis told a reporter.

Javon was a sophomore at Perspectives Charter High School. He enjoyed sports and listening to hip-hop, Davis told the Tribune.

Davis's son, Jonathan Davis, is the boy's father. The congressman was in his office when his son called him and told him about the shooting, the Tribune reports.

“Initially it was that he had been shot and then actually the police commander called me and indicated that, there during a home invasion, he had been shot and it didn’t look good."

Davis, 75, has represented the 7th congressional district since 1997, and previously served on the Chicago City Council and Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Davis is neither the first prominent Chicagoan nor the first public servant to lose a loved one during this year of rampant shootings and murder in Chicago. The city is setting a record pace for shootings and killings.

Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade's cousin, Nykea Aldridge, a young mom, was shot to death in August while pushing a baby stroller. She was walking to her neighborhood school to register her young son for classes. Just a few weeks before that killing, a police officer's 19-year-old son was shot to death on the South Side. Arshell Dennis was a college student home for a visit and was shot to death in a case of mistaken identity.

Through Thursday, 3,914 shootings have been recorded in Chicago and 699 homicides.

The congressman or his office is expected to make a statement after speaking with police. His district, which runs from the downtown area through the South Side and West Side and into the west suburbs, includes the block where his grandson was shot.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Patch editors Feroze Dhanoa and Joe Vince contributed to this report.

UPDATED (10:31 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 20)

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (photo via U.S. House of Representatives)

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