Jaylin Ellzey, a 15-year-old African American boy, was tragically killed on May 14, 2019, in a drive-by shooting in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago. Jaylin and a 23-year-old woman were standing in the 200 block of West 113th Street when they were shot around 2:15 p.m. Jaylin was hit in the head, abdomen, and lower body, and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he later died.
The woman was also taken to the same hospital in serious condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest.
Antawan Smith, a 29-year-old man with a criminal record, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and being an armed habitual criminal in connection with Jaylin's death. Smith was allegedly in a vehicle that pulled up to Jaylin and the woman, and he fired shots into Jaylin's head, abdomen, and lower body. Smith was arrested on May 25, 2019, after he sped from a traffic stop and crashed in the 6900 block of South Marshfield Avenue. Officers allegedly found him with a gun, and he was later charged in the fatal shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Smith was on bond for a gun charge from October 2018. He had a criminal record that included multiple gun charges from 2015 and 2008, and he had served three years in Illinois prison for the latter case. A Cook County judge denied him bail during a hearing on May 27, 2019.
Jaylin was a freshman at Fenger Academy High School and lived with his mother in Roseland. He had two sisters and three brothers. Jaylin was interested in rap and hip-hop, taking on the artist name "King CEO" and creating music videos. His family described him as an outgoing, kindhearted boy who was trying to survive his environment.
