Chicago IL January 30, 2022

Two men involved with an anti-violence program co-founded by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan were shot Thursday afternoon in the Roseland neighborhood, officials said.

One was shot dead while trying to turn his life around. The other, a security guard, was shot in the leg while coming to the man’s aid.

Killed was Stephon Mack, 24, who was shot on the chest and head just after 4 p.m. Thursday in the 400 block of West 111th Street, officials said.

Mack, who was involved with the organization CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny), was pronounced dead at the scene, outside a church and across the street from the Youth Peace Center of Roseland, which works with CRED, according to spokesman Peter Cunningham.

CRED is an organization that provides support for people at high risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of gun violence, Cunningham told the Tribune.

Police said the assailant got out of a Chrysler 300 and after shooting Mack, fired again, hitting the 40-year-old security guard for CRED.

The guard sprang into action and returned fire, as he “attempted to engage” the gunman said police Cunningham. The guard, who was expected to survive, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition, police said.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who is also a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools under Mayor Richard M. Daley and later co-founded Chicago CRED, Tweeted about the shooting.

Duncan is considering a challenge to Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2023 mayor’s race.

Mack was a father of three who had just finished high school, according to a CRED supervisor who asked to remain anonymous.

“The young man that was killed, his kids and his fiancee was a big part of him wanting to change, for them,” the supervisor said. “He knew that the stuff that he was doing in his life was detrimental to him living and being able to be a part of his kids growing up.”

People go to CRED wanting to change for different reasons. But sometimes, even if a person is ready to change, their past might try to catch up with them, the supervisor said. Though there’s always a risk that something like what happened Thursday can happen when participants are at high risk, it doesn’t happen often, he added.

Cunningham said Thursday’s shooting was the first time someone has been shot near a program site in the in the organization’s five years.

“It’s just an unfortunate incident that happened,” Cunningham said. “It’s not gonna stop us from doing what we do.”

Chicago CRED participants are asked to put their guns down and engage in cognitive therapy to learn how to better manage stress in tough situations, Cunningham said. They get help going back to school or going through job training and are given a life coach to help turn their life around.

Cunningham said shootings like the one that killed Mack emphasize the need for the kind of community work CRED does as the organization and its outreach workers engage in the community to prevent gun violence.

“The only way to really prevent shootings is by engaging with potential shooters,” Cunningham said. “So you have to engage with them and you have to work with them and you have to, you know, come to understand why they’re fearful and why they feel they need to shoot and do your best to help them see that there’s another way.”

An autopsy Friday determined that Mack, of the 12600 block of S. Ada St, Calumet Park, died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

No arrests have been announced by police.

chicagotribune.com

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