In the early hours of Wednesday morning in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, tragedy struck at a three-story apartment building in the 8100 block of South Marshfield Avenue. Police responded just before 8 a.m. after a call that someone inside the residence had been shot.
When first responders arrived, they found a 16-year-old boy — later identified as Devajae “DJ” Christopher, known to friends as “Lil Spazz” — lying on the second-floor back porch with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Inside the building on the first level, officers then discovered 17-year-old Tamarion West, called “Stewie,” with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and chest; he too was pronounced dead on site.
A 21-year-old man was found on the third floor hiding under a bed, suffering from a gunshot wound to his arm. He was immediately transported by the fire department to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in fair condition. A 13-year-old boy also hiding inside the residence was discovered and thankfully found unharmed.
Neighbors reported hearing the gunfire in the very early morning hours — one said the shooting likely occurred around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., when it was still dark. They described waking their children and praying after the sounds of multiple shots rang out. According to residents, the building and surrounding block have been crime-hotspots for some time, with repeated police calls to the area. One local pastor, Donovan Price, called the scene “a horrific wake-up call” in what he described as a “Chicago reality” of violence.
At this time, no suspects are in custody and officials from the Area Two Bureau of Detectives of the Chicago Police Department continue to investigate. Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the CPD’s 6th District at (312) 745-3610, anonymously through CPDTIP.com, or via Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP.
The loss of DJ and Stewie is especially heartbreaking given their young ages and the abruptness of the violence. As the community reels from the news, residents say they hope this investigation will lead to answers—and safety. The building where the tragedy occurred is now part of a wider dialogue about gun violence and the protection of young lives in neighborhoods like Auburn Gresham.
Detectives ask again: if you were in the area early Wednesday morning and observed anything unusual — a group fleeing from the building, a strange vehicle, the sounds of gunfire — please speak up. For a neighborhood to heal, and for the memory of two young lives cut short to mean something, the community’s voice and cooperation wi
ll matter.
