Benito Juarez shooting: Former student held without bail in high school mass shooting that killed 2

CHICAGO - A 16-year-old former student who had been expelled from Benito Juarez High School was denied bail Saturday on charges in a mass shooting in December on the school’s campus in Pilsen.

Christian Acevedo faces counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder as an adult in the Dec. 16 shooting, which left two teens dead and two others wounded.

Cook County prosecutors said Acevedo had been expelled earlier that school year for behavioral, academic and attendance issues.

Surveillance cameras recorded Acevedo near the campus before the shooting, including talking to people on a soccer field, as well as running from the area afterwards, but cameras did not record the shooting itself, prosecutors said.

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Juarez student Brandon Perez, 15, and Nathan Billegas, 14, a student at Chicago Bulls College Prep, were standing with others shortly after classes were dismissed about 2:30 p.m. for the day in a plaza under a bridge that connects two wings of the school’s campus, prosecutors said.

Witnesses told investigators they heard someone say there were "Razas over there" — referring to the La Raza street gang — and that someone warned Perez and Billegas that Acevedo was there to cause trouble, prosecutors said.

Acevedo is a documented member of the "Bishops" street gang and that Billegas was affiliated with another street gang.

Acevedo approached Perez and Billegas and asked Perez if he was a "Raza" and Perez asked him why he wanted to know, prosecutors said.

Acevedo allegedly walked a few steps away before turning around and opening fire, striking Perez and Billegas each in their heads, and striking two other students in their bodies before running away.

A witness took a photo of Acevedo holding a gun and standing over one of the victims, prosecutors said. Multiple people, including a Chicago police officer who had previous encounters with Acevedo, allegedly identified him as the shooter in the surveillance footage.

On Thursday, Acevedo was seen driving a stolen vehicle and police followed him to his home, where he ran inside while holding a rifle, prosecutors said. Police entered the home shortly after and he was placed into custody, but no rifle was recovered during a search of the home’s first floor.

Four guns, three of which had aftermarket switches that made them fully automatic, were found in Acevedo’s room, as well as extended magazines, prosecutors said. Ammunition was found in his bedroom and in the garage during the arrest, according to prosecutors.

Acevedo also faces charges in juvenile court, including felony counts of aggravated discharge on school grounds and other weapons charges, officials said.

Defense attorney Nicholas Giordano called the allegations "horrible" but argued to Judge Ankur Srivastava that prosecutors had not said their evidence included DNA or fingerprints, and noted that Acevedo had not made any admissions to being the shooter.

Acevedo lives with his family, including his father and grandmother, and was in the process of getting enrolled in a program to get back into school, Giordano said.

The attorney also questioned why it had taken investigators months to take his client into custody if they had "all these identifications."

Giordano asked that Acevedo be released to a parent.

Srivastava cited the potential life sentence Acevedo faces if convicted of the current charges, as well as the multiple identifications of Acevedo and the weapons found in Acevedo’s possession, in his decision to hold the teen without bail.

Acevedo is expected back in court March 3.