Rogers Park shooting leaves 5-year-old fighting for his life

Devin McGregor, 5, had only attended three days of kindergarten at Willard Elementary School in Evanston before he was shot in the head Sunday. As of Tuesday evening, the boy was fighting for his life.

According to relatives, Devin absolutely loved school.

“He was so excited, that’s all he talked about,” said Tervalon Sargent, Devin’s maternal grandfather. “Everyday he was like, ‘man, grandpa, school is the best.’ ”

A moment of silence was held for Devin and his family during the Evanston/Skokie District 65 Board of Education meeting on Monday night with board President Sergio Hernandez saying, “We continue to deal as a country with violence and unfortunately some of the victims are just so young. We have a kindergartner who is fighting for his life right now.”

Devin and his father, a 25-year-old man, both were shot Sunday night in the 7600 block of North Paulina Street, near West Howard Street, around 5 p.m. when a black Hyundai pulled up beside the family’s vehicle, according to Brendan Deenihan, chief of detectives with Chicago police. Deenihan and other law enforcement officials spoke at a Monday morning news conference at which authorities said Devin had been in a vehicle with his mother and father when the shooting occurred, but a police report obtained by the Tribune tells a slightly different story.

Devin was in the back seat of his mother’s Nissan sedan after his father, the 25-year-old, had dropped his son off with Devin’s mother. The 25-year-old had been walking away from the Nissan, north on Paulina, when witnesses reported hearing gunshots, according to the police report. Meanwhile, a black “newer model” Hyundai Sonata was headed south on Paulina.

Devin’s mother looked behind her and saw her son had been shot. Devin’s father told authorities he looked up in time to see a person in the left rear seat of the Hyundai Sonata draw a rifle and shoot him, according to the report.

And while Devin’s mother drove her wounded son and the 25-year-old to Amita Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, responding officers were able to speak with witnesses and obtain surveillance camera images.

Sargent said Devin “was a great kid,” who “liked playing basketball with his uncles.” One of Devin’s uncles is an 8-year-old who had been helping Devin adjust to his first year of school.

“His uncle was teaching him the ropes about riding the bus,” Sargent said. “They also love playing video games, especially that one, Roblox. They’d play that all the time.”

Sargent said Devin had not been conscious since the attack and he remained in extremely critical condition Tuesday morning.

“Right now he’s fighting for his life, but we just don’t know,” Sargent said. “I can tell you I know he was going to be successful with whatever he was going to do in life, but he didn’t get a chance.”

Pioneer Press reporter Alex Hulvalchick contributed

kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

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