The family of a 15-year-old boy fatally shot near a gas station in Chicago is calling on the community to come forward with information regarding the shooting.
Sincere Cole was shot 24 times while headed to a Chicago Lawn gas station at Western Avenue and Marquette Road Saturday evening for snacks, WGN-9 reported.
Cole’s aunt and legal guardian, Brandy Martin, revealed to the outlet on Sunday that her sister and Cole’s mother, Felona Smith, died in 2019 after being killed by a Chicago Transit Authority train. She said she is still in shock three days after losing her nephew.
“Sincere was creative, ambitious. An entrepreneur at 15. He found a way,” Martin said. “Standing at the gas station pumping people’s gas to make money; it’s better than knocking an old lady in the head for her purse. He didn’t have to die.”
Martin addressed reporters at a news conference on Tuesday while revisiting where the 15-year-old lost his life Saturday night.
“My nephew balled up and pleaded for his life,” Martin said. “Somebody say something.”
Cole’s family members are pleading with the public to bring justice to his untimely death.
“Someone seen something. Please speak out,” Martin said. “Don’t wait for it to happen to you, and you have to stand in front of these cameras and ask for the same help you refuse to give.”
“I’ve got to stand up here and scream from inside out and make sure I get the word out so he won’t be another name, another number, another tag,” Martin told reporters. “Don’t forget about us because we’re put in areas that (are) low income,” she continued.
The Faith Community Church of Saint Sabina has extended a $5,000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest, People Magazine reported.
“He’s got siblings who are hurting. He has a father. I am pleading for help from my city to bury my nephew,” Martin said. “We need help. We need grief counseling.”
