Darren Foggey, a 16-year-old African American male, was tragically killed on July 23, 2014, in Chicago, IL. The incident occurred in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Darren was in a bedroom at a friend's apartment in the 6700 block of South Artesian Avenue when a bullet came through the first-floor window and struck him in the neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:40 p.m.
Darren lived about a block away from where the shooting took place.
The shooting was part of an ongoing conflict between groups of kids living on either side of Western Avenue. Just a week earlier, police had shot at someone who was shooting from 68th Street across Western Avenue toward rivals on the other side. The conflict had escalated, leading to Darren's death. On the day of the shooting, a group of kids from the other side of Western Avenue had run up to the apartment building where Darren was later killed. Later, two of them rode over on bikes and shot at a boy who lived on Artesian south of 69th Street but missed.
Darren's death was not an isolated incident. A woman had been shot to death on 68th Street on the evening of July 7 while walking with friends, and this was also tied to the ongoing conflict. Darren's father, Darren Foggey Sr., was devastated by the loss of his son. He described the situation as "rough" and mentioned that he had to keep his sunglasses on because he kept sobbing.
The investigation into Darren's death led to the arrest of Rasaan Price, who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting. Price was found guilty of murder on October 22, 2015, after a four-day jury trial. According to prosecutors, Price walked up to the first-floor window of the apartment where Darren was watching television with friends and fired a single shot into the window, striking Darren in the neck. Multiple witnesses identified Price as the gunman, and portions of the attack were captured on surveillance video from a nearby business. Price was sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 27, 2016, and was booked into the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill.
Darren's death highlights the tragic consequences of neighborhood conflicts and gang-related violence in Chicago. The loss of such a young life is a stark reminder of the need for community intervention and support to prevent further violence and protect the youth in these neighborhoods.
