On the evening of December 28, 2016, 19-year-old African American male Yuri Hardy was walking south on the 100 block of North Central Avenue in Chicago's Austin neighborhood when he was approached by a man who opened fire, striking him in the left leg. Hardy was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead at 1:14 a.m. on December 29, 2016. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide.
Yuri Hardy was a senior at Urban Prep Academy's West campus in the University Village neighborhood. He was known for his love of dance and fashion design, and he had aspirations of becoming an entrepreneur after college. His family and school community remembered him as a fun-loving young man who enjoyed spending time with friends and family. Hardy was the fourth Urban Prep student or alumnus to be fatally shot in Chicago in 2016.
Following an investigation, 20-year-old Tyshaun Powell was arrested on June 19, 2017, and charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with Hardy's death. Powell was taken into custody by the Chicago Police Department's Gang Investigations Unit in the 2600 block of South California Avenue. At a court hearing on June 20, 2017, Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered Powell held without bond at Cook County Jail. He was scheduled to appear in court again on July 10, 2017.
