15-year-old boy charged in shooting at Joliet food mart parking lot

JOLIET, Ill. - A 15-year-old boy has become the second person charged in connection with a shooting last month in a Joliet parking lot that left two teens wounded.

The boy and 19-year-old Marcus Gilbert have both been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

On Aug. 28, around 9:11 p.m., Joliet police responded to reports of gunfire in the 300 block of Western Avenue. Officers discovered that the shooting happened near the parking lot of the Western Food Mart, with two victims found nearby in the 300 block of Bluff Street.

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the calf, while a 15-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks. Both teens were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.

Police believe the teens were shot as they approached the parking lot, one on foot and the other on a bicycle. Detectives identified Gilbert as a suspect, leading to his arrest by the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force on Sept 10.

At the time of his arrest, Gilbert was already out on pretrial release for a gun-related charge from April 2024.

The 15-year-old was questioned by Joliet detectives on Tuesday. He was arrested on Thursday and taken to the River Valley Justice Center.