A Waukegan man and a 17-year-old juvenile have been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting that left a 12-year old child riding on a bicycle shot in Zion on October 13.
The Zion Police Department said in a statement that police officers responded to multiple reports of gunshots fired in the 2200 block of Hebron Avenue at 6:30 p.m. on October 13. Police officers arrived and found a 12-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Authorities said that the child was conscious and talking with police officers.
“Officers applied pressure to his wound until the Zion Fire Rescue Department arrived,” the Zion Police Department said in a statement. The victim was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
According to the Zion Police Department, the 12-year-old, who is a resident of Zion, was riding his bicycle when he was shot. Police said that the shooting was not random or accidental and that the boy was targeted, in what authorities called a “horrendous crime”.
“There is not believed to be any threat to the general public as preliminary information indicates this was not random or accidental,” the Zion Police Department said.
On Friday, the Zion Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Alexander W. Mendez, 33, of Waukegan for one count of aggravated battery with a firearm. Police said Mendez was the one who fired the gun during the shooting.
Members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Warrants Team and U.S. Marshals worked with Zion police officers and Waukegan police officers to help locate Mendez. Authorities developed information that Mendez was at his residence in the 1700 block of Golf Road in Waukegan.
On Tuesday the Lake County Sheriff’s Warrants Team and Lake County Sheriff’s detectives took Mendez into custody without incident. They also recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the shooting. Mendez is being held at the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Authorities also said that a 17-year-old juvenile was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a firearm in connection with the shooting. The juvenile was taken to the Hulse Juvenile Detention Center.
The Lake County States Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case for possible additional charges. Detectives said they are seeking one more person of interest in the case.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Zion Police Department at 847-746-4110.