BY JON SEIDEL AND MICHAEL O’BRIEN
Chicago Sun-Times
The sobbing of another grieving family filled a Chatham apartment Sunday after Simeon Career Academy sophomore and football player Michael Flournoy III was shot to death two miles from home.
Flournoy, 16, who lived in the 8000 block of South Evans Avenue, was shot just before 8 p.m. Saturday in the 1000 block of East 93rd and died at the scene, officials said.
Flournoy’s grandfather, Samuel Woods, said the boy was his “best friend.”
“I saw Michael come in this world,” Woods said. “I kept him with me. I talked to him. We joked. We laughed. We played games on PlayStation. He was my friend. And I’m going to miss him.”
Family, friends and neighbors all described Flournoy as an ambitious, soft-spoken kid with a good head on his shoulders who steered clear of drugs and gangs. On Tuesday, he planned to interview for a summer job at Navy Pier, Woods said.
“That’s all he kept talking about,” Woods said. “‘Grandad, I got a job.’”
But Flournoy knew about the danger lurking in the neighborhood, according to his grandfather. Just about a month ago, Woods said Flournoy was mugged on his way to a gas station a few blocks from home.
“They pressed the knife so hard in his belly it left a little hole,” Woods said. “And all they took from him was his cellphone and $5.”
Saturday, Woods said, Flournoy was on his way to pick up chips at a store on 93rd when he got into a fight with some other boys.
“They jumped on him,” Woods said. “Beat him up. And then they shot him in the face.”
By Sunday afternoon, a makeshift memorial marked the scene of Flournoy’s death outside St. Anthony’s Church. Mourners left stuffed animals, a balloon, and messages written on signs in black marker:
“Gone too soon,”
“God bless the family.”
“Pray for our children.”
Woods said he used to drive Flournoy to the North Side to look at buildings. The boy loved cars, thought about becoming a firefighter, but really wanted to be an architect, Woods said.
“He wanted to build something,” Woods said. “He felt he wanted to be one of the best.”
Flournoy also played defensive back and wide receiver on the sophomore football team at Simeon.
“He was a great kid, around the school always helping people out. He was a very soft spoken young man, you would have to tell him to speak up just to hear him talk. Just a good kid,” Simeon football coach Dante Culbreath said of Flournoy.
Area South detectives are investigating.