Tyshawn Lee, the 9-year-old Chicago child lured into an alley and executed Monday afternoon, was targeted due to his father's gang ties, said Chicago police.
Officials believe the murder was part of an ongoing, bloody conflict involving two of Chicago's oldest rival gangs, the Gangster Disciples and the Black P Stones, according to News One.
Lee's father, convicted felon Pierre Stokes, is thought to be a member of the Gangster Disciples, and is not cooperating with police.
"No, I don't think it was no retaliation because I never did nothing to... for nobody to hurt my son," said Stokes. "They're more worried about me. Why are you worried about me, not the killer? I'm not the killer. Worry about the killer."
"I don't think he's a witness to it, so I'm not sure how he could help us, but I could tell you this, I'm a father, many of us here are fathers," said Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, according to the Chicago Tribune. "My reaction would be a little bit different."
"Tyshawn Lee was murdered in probably the most abhorrent, cowardly, unfathomable crime that I've witnessed in 35 years of policing," said the superintendent, according to CNN. "We're pretty certain that this is not an accident. He was not a bystander."
A $35,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the suspects in Lee's shooting.
