Arheel's Uncle
Senior Reporter
‘Empty your pockets!’ Elgin teen, friends robbed before fatal shooting near United Center
by: BJ Lutz, Courtney Spinelli, Brónagh Tumulty
Posted: Oct 22, 2024 / 01:40 PM CDT
Updated: Oct 23, 2024 / 05:22 AM CDT
Jess Kendall, 18, died early Monday morning at Stroger Hospital
CHICAGO — Jess Kendall and four friends were just two blocks from the United Center, where they planned to attend the Lil Durk concert, when they were robbed and attacked at gunpoint on Sunday evening, according to Chicago police.
Kendall, 18, of Elgin, was pistol-whipped and shot during the confrontation. He was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition and died hours later.
“Nobody is doing good. Everyone is devastated by the loss of this kid,” Kendall’s older brother, Thomas, said Tuesday. “Everyone misses him. I miss him really, really bad.”
The slain teen, the youngest of the Kendall’s three boys, loved cars and likely would have gone on to one day open his own auto shop, his brother said. Thomas Kendall said his younger brother enjoyed working with his hands and was into music. The trip to the city and the concert was a birthday surprise for his brother’s girlfriend, he said. It was the girlfriend who called Thomas in tears after the attack.
According to a police report obtained by WGN, Kendall and his group were on the sidewalk on the 100 block of North Wolcott Avenue ahead of the 7 p.m. show when the attackers approached, two of them on Divvy bikes. Weapons were shown and words exchanged.
“Empty your pockets! Gimme all your s**t,” the robbers yelled at the group of friends, who complied. Once they’d handed over everything and were patted down, Kendall walked away, continuing southbound on Wolcott, toward the United Center, and yelled something back at the attackers, the police report says.
The four robbers then re-approached Kendall, with one yelling “what boy?” before striking the teen with a gun, knocking him to the ground. Kendall is said to have put up a struggle as he was beaten. Then shots rang out. Police would later locate 14 shell casings.
As Kendall lay injured, the attackers then followed his friends as they ran off to find help, police said.
Responding officers found two other people who’d been shot by the gunfire: a 15-year-old who was in nearby Park 578 was shot in the hand and grazed on the abdomen, and a 19-year-old who was on nearby West Maypole Avenue when he was hit in the rib area. Both were recovering at Stroger Hospital, police said.
A pair of GoFundMe accounts were established to assist Kendall’s family with bills and funeral services. As of midday Tuesday, one account had collected more than $7,000 of its $10,000 goal. A second account had collected more than $3,000 of a $20,000 goal.
“It was really heartbreaking to hear that,” an Elgin resident named Martha who knows the Kendall family told WGN. “He didn’t get a chance to graduate from high school, to finish out his life. I knew he would have been someone great, because he was great being young and an entrepreneur, and nowadays you don’t see kids out here like that.”
Martha remembered the teen as a hard worker who, with his older brother, offered lawn care and other home and yard maintenance services around the neighborhood.
Counseling and support services were made available at Elgin High School, where Kendall was a senior.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm the
Police had no one in custody Tuesday in connection with the crime. Anyone with information should contact authorities. Tips may be made anonymously online at CPDTip.com.