Hadiya Zaymara Pendleton, 15, a Black female, was spending the early afternoon of January 29, 2013 with classmates in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood, a short walk from King College Prep, when a gunman opened fire. A bullet struck her in the back and she collapsed beneath the winter trees; two friends were wounded. The shock rippled beyond her school because only a week earlier she had traveled to Washington, D.C., to perform with her band and majorette squad at
events surrounding President Barack Obama's second inauguration.
Detectives soon focused on a drive-by attack that appeared to be a case of mistaken identity in a gang feud. Within about two weeks, police arrested two young men: 18-year-old Micheail Ward, identified by authorities as the gunman, and 20-year-old Kenneth Williams, alleged to be the driver. Both were charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery with a firearm, after investigators concluded the group of students had been misidentified as rivals. A judge denied them bail as the city mourned and the story drew national attention.
Years later, separate trials began in August 2018. Juries returned guilty verdicts against both men: Williams was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated battery for the injuries to Pendleton's friends, and Ward was found guilty of first-degree murder the following day. Ward received an 84-year sentence in January 2019; Williams was later sentenced to 42 years, with time apportioned between the murder and aggravated-battery counts.
The legal story continued. In March 2023, an Illinois appellate court overturned Ward's conviction, faulting how his confession had been obtained, and ordered a new trial. Subsequent rulings kept him in custody while the case moved forward, and in January 2025 the Illinois Supreme Court granted him a new trial, ensuring the prosecution will be retried even as Williams' conviction and sentence remained intact.
