15-year old Demario Bailey would have turned 16 this month but he will no longer make it. He died on Saturday protecting his twin brother Demacio. Demario was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery on Chicago's South side at around 12:40 p.m. on Saturday.
Earlier that day, Demario and Demacio took the No. 29 State Street bus and got off at 63rd Street to head towards Demacio's basketball practice. The twins walked through a long, dark viaduct, where they encountered four robbers who demanded Demario's jacket.
A fight ensued after the teenager refused to give up his coat and Demario, who was five minutes older than his twin brother, saw one of the robbers on top of Demacio. He then went to help his sibling and told the assailant to get off of his brother. He also managed to push the robber but one of the assailants drew a weapon.
A gunshot went off and although Demacio heard this, he was initially unaware that it hit his older twin. He thought that Demario was just behind him as he was trying to escape the scene. When he turned around, he saw that Demario was not following him. Instead, his brother was lying on the ground with a gunshot on his chest.
Demario died right at the scene a few minutes later. He would have celebrated his birthday three days later.
"One of the best kids in our school," said Demario's basketball coach Robin Callahan. "Very disciplined. No problems, fun kids. Always a smile on they face. If you wanted a kid, that was one of the kids that you wanted."
The boys' mother used to insist accompanying them to and from Johnson College Prep in Englewood, where they are currently in tenth grade, and only recently started to allow the twins to get around more on their own. The tragic incident happened just after the boys' family gave them more freedom to be on their own.
"Our children have always been dropped up and picked up and escorted," said the boys' grandmother Bernice Fitzpatrick. "They were starting to say, 'Ma, we can do things on our own. We promised them we would give them a little more freedom. We let them go for one month.'"
Police have already taken several suspects into custody including 17 year old Carlos Johnson, who is now charged with first-degree murder for the slaying of Demario and for another robbery that occurred before the tragic shooting.
