Two 15-year-old boys who attended Simeon Career Academy were fatally shot in separate attacks Tuesday and a third boy, 14, also was critically wounded, according to Chicago police.

       Authorities were called to the 8300 block of South Holland about 2:40 p.m., minutes after Simeon, 8147 S. Vincennes Ave., let out about half a mile away. The boy was in front of a business when a vehicle approached and someone inside fired shots, police said. He was shot in the chest and initially taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead at 3:17 p.m.

       Evidence markers and a backpack at a crime scene in a strip mall at 83rd Street and South Holland Road after Jamari Williams, 15, was fatally shot on Sept. 21, 2021. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       The teen was identified as Jamari Williams, according to information from the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The Chicago Teachers Union also said Williams had attended Simeon.

       Pastor Donovan Price, who was at the scene when Williams was shot outside a strip mall, said there were 30 to 40 students gathered when the shooting occurred.

       Price, who accompanied Williams’ family to the hospital, said the teen’s family spoke about how Williams had liked to rap, and how much he had loved football and sports — “that was his thing,” said Price — adding Williams was “wanting (football) to lead to a better life for his family.”

       ”He really, really planned on that leading to bigger and better things. Dreams, you know, that kids have,” Price said.

       Price said family members said Williams’ father had been shot and killed the year before.

       “Instead of getting used to it, it actually just multiplies the pain,” he said of two members of one family being fatally shot. “I think that more people need to realize the importance of each and every person killed by gun violence, not just get used to it like, ‘Oh another one, ’” he said.

       Less than four hours after Williams was shot, two teens — ages 14 and 15 — were shot in the 5200 block of South Lake Park, as they sat in a vehicle, according to Chicago police. The 14-year-old was shot in the leg and he had been in critical condition at Comer Children’s Hospital, officials said.

       A Chicago police officer walks the perimeter of a crime scene outside a McDonald's restaurant on 52nd Street at Lake Park Avenue on Sept. 21, 2021. Kentrell McNeal, 15, was killed and a 14-year-old boy was critically wounded in the shooting. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       The 15-year-old was shot in the head and initially listed in serious condition at Provident Hospital, police said. He was pronounced dead at 9:33 a.m. Wednesday and was identified as Kentrell McNeal, according to information from the medical examiner’s office.

       Kentrell was involved with GoodKids MadCity and played basketball as part of the organization’s Detour program, according to Carlil Pittman co-founder and executive director of GoodKids MadCity Englewood.

       He was “a role model to the other boys,” said Pittman, including to Pittman’s 11-year-old son.

       Every other weekend, McNeal and his teammates would call and ask to go to Pittman’s house to hang out, or to go to the gym with Pittman and play basketball, “giving them a space just to be young people,” an opportunity not often afforded to Chicago’s young Black boys, she said.

       McNeal was a genuine teenager, and funny, said Pittman. “He always had a joke or a way to make you smile in a tense moment,” he said.

       Check back for updates.

       jyan@chicagotribune.com

       kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

       R. Kelly used persona to hide crimes ‘in plain sight,’ prosecutors argue as singer’s racketeering trial in New York winds down

       1m

       Two 15-year-old Simeon students fatally shot hours apart Tuesday — one a few blocks from school

       7m

       Breaking News Fed-up Chicago man tears out speed bump in alley behind his house, plans to fight ticket: ‘Little by little I took it out’

       Sep 21, 2021

       Business Patients flood emergency rooms at Chicago area children’s hospitals, causing long wait times. Doctors urge parents not to bring kids to ERs unless necessary.

       7:15 AM

       Clarence Page Column: No, those aren’t whips the Border Patrol is using while dealing with Haitian migrants

       Sep 21, 2021