Chicago teen with LD chased, beaten, burned, shot

From The Chicago Tribune:

Alex Arellano's family was so concerned about threats the 15-year-old was getting from gang members that they pulled him from Chicago Discovery Academy in the fall.

But they didn't know how serious the situation was until his uncle got a chilling call May 1 from a friend of the teenager's, saying that he was being chased and beaten with bats in a neighborhood several miles from their home.

"He was knocked down by bats, and after he got up, he started to run but was struck by a car that was chasing him," said his uncle Juan Tirado, who went May 1 to the area near 53rd Street and Sacramento Avenue where the caller said Arellano was last seen, but could find no sign of him.

The teen's severely beaten and burned body wasn't found until about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 3000 block of West 54th Place, a few blocks from where Tirado had been directed, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said Arellano died of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled it a homicide, but would not say if the teen was dead before his body was burned. No one had been arrested by Sunday evening.

The grieving family spent May 3 struggling to understand why a teen who police say had no criminal record or ties to gangs was targeted for such a brutal death.

"Cowards," Tirado said as he stood on the back porch of the family's apartment in the 8900 block of South Escanaba Avenue, where Arellano lived with his mother, Yeimi Tirado, a 12-year-old sister and a 5-year-old stepbrother.

Tirado lashed out at his nephew's unknown killers.

"You guys are not human," he said. "A human would not do that to another human being -- especially a child, who had no gang affiliation."

He also pleaded with anyone who saw his nephew being chased about 7 p.m. Friday, when he received the call from Arellano's friend, to contact police.

"I know it's hard for people around there to say anything," Tirado said. "But if someone saw something, call the police anonymously and say something. It was just so vicious and horrifying of them to do this to a child."

Arellano last attended Chicago Discovery Academy on Sept. 9, Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said. School administrators do not recall the teen or his family reporting a problem with threats, Bond said.

"If any student feels threatened, there is a system in place to address that," Bond said. "You could go to anybody. A teacher. The principal."

Tirado said the family hoped to move to another neighborhood so that Arellano could attend another school, but financial problems made that difficult. They felt the best way to deal with the problem was just to keep Arellano at home. The teen had a learning disability, Tirado said, and spent much of his time playing video games since leaving school.

Neighbors who asked not to be identified described him as a quiet kid who did not make trouble or seem to be involved with gangs.

"He's a very shy kid," said Tirado's girlfriend, Juanita Quiroz. "He was funny. He didn't want to get in anybody's business. He liked to laugh."

The last time family members had seen Arellano was Thursday night. They realized Friday morning he was gone and did not know where he was until a girl who Tirado did not know called about 7 p.m. Friday. At first, she said Arellano needed to be picked up from 51st Street and Albany Avenue. She called a few minutes later with the description of the chase, saying police were on the scene.

On Friday night, Tirado said he and other family members asked police to help search for the teen, but were told to go home and call police in their own neighborhood to fill out a missing person's report. An officer arrived about midnight and took the report, Tirado said.

On Saturday morning, family members were back in the neighborhood where Arellano was last seen, handing out fliers with the teen's picture. A family member saw police gathered near where the body was found at 2:30 p.m. and helped identify Arellano, Tirado said.

Tirado has no idea why his nephew was in the neighborhood where his body was found or why anyone would kill him.

"I think it was probably a set-up situation," he said. "To get him out of this area."