Boy, 16, charged in mass shooting at Benito Juarez High School that killed 2 students

CHICAGO - A teenage boy is facing murder charges in connection with a mass shooting last December at Benito Juarez High School in the Pilsen neighborhood.

The 16-year-old, who wasn't named, was arrested Thursday at his home in the 1800 block of West 17th Street, according to Chicago police.

He is accused of opening fire just minutes after students were dismissed from school on Dec. 18. Four teens were shot, two of them fatally. 

The Cook County Medical Examiner has identified the victims as Nathan Billegas, 14, and Brandon Perez, 15. Relatives say Billegas was a freshman at Chicago Bulls College Prep, while Perez was a student at Juarez.

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Another 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were also struck, but survived.

Chicago police said the teen was in possession of a stolen vehicle during his arrrest.

The teen was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm near a school, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, four counts of unlawful use of a weapon and criminal trespass to a vehicle.

Police Supt. David Brown provided limited details of the investigation Friday, saying specific information about the circumstances of the shooting will be explained during the suspect’s bail hearing on Saturday.

"We currently don’t have a clear motive for why a 16-year-old would want to shoot and kill other kids," Brown said. "And it’s unconscionable, as you can imagine, trying to find some reasoning behind it. It’s senseless. There’s no good reason."

For many in the Pilsen community, the shooting struck a nerve because the high school is so intertwined with the neighborhood’s history. In the ensuing days, some students returned to school before winter break while others stayed home.

Some of them led a vigil and march around the neighborhood to decry gun violence. And residents signed up for shifts to hand out hot chocolate and snacks to students outside the school as a memorial grew for Billegas and Perez.

On Friday, loved ones of the victims held a press conference and expressed criticism of CPD and Chicago Public Schools – saying they believe enough is not being done to protect their children.

"And now we have two kids that should be with us, and the other kids are terrified because there’s still no communications and a plan on how we are going to prevent this tragedy from happening in the future," said Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who represents the 25th Ward.

"Not only that, but like if they were involved in some kind of gang affiliation. That maybe they knew them and that they had some kind of gang thing going on," said Ines Billegas, Nathan’s mom. "They’re not gang bangers, they were kids."

Meanwhile, during a police press conference on Friday, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said they have increased security and patrols at schools.

"Over the past few months, CPD has been providing external support across the city in the form of having patrol officers available for dismissal in select situations where we’ve had a need for special attention. In addition to supporting selected dismissal areas, these officers are also conducting external checks throughout the day to look for suspicious activity," said Martinez.

The parents of the victims also said they believe there other teens were involved in the shooting. Currently, the 16-year-old is the only person charged in connection with this case.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.