A pair of teenagers were shot and killed in Chicago after asking a man how tall he was, police said.
Jasean Francis, 17, and Charles Riley, 16, were allegedly killed after a man identified as Laroy Battle opened fire during an incident on June 20, an official with the Chicago Police Department said, according to ABC News.
Police say the teens asked Battle, 19, about his height while he was buying candy at a store in South Chicago.
He allegedly shot the boys as they were walking home. A third teenager managed to escape the gunfire.
“The victims were walking into the store, they saw Battle, he was standing in line while at the store and the victims commented that Battle, he was quite tall, and they asked him how tall he was and hoped to be that tall someday,” Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said, according to ABC.
“Unfortunately, we will never even see the full growth of these poor children.”
Battle was arrested last Wednesday after being found by police at a nearby motel. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Authorities said there was no altercation between the boys and the suspect before the shooting.
“There was nothing that would have set off Battle to be angry at these kids,” Deenihan said during a press conference. “He is about 6\6, and they literally just asked him how tall he was because he is extremely tall.”
Battle was denied bond.
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