Watch CBS News

Chicago police make arrest in killing of 9-year-old boy

Police have made an arrest in connection to the execution-style killing of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in Chicago's South Side
Chicago police arrest suspect in killing of 9-year-old boy 00:27

CHICAGO -- A 27-year-old man has been arrested in the execution-style shooting of a 9-year-old boy, CBS Chicago reports.

Police: 9-year-old murder victim was executed 01:44

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Corey Morgan has been arrested in connection with the shooting of Tyshawn Lee. Guglielmi did not provide further details on the arrest but said police would have a formal announcement later Friday.

Morgan has been a person of interest from the start. Last week, he was arrested on a weapons charge in nearby Oak Lawn after police found him and another man with loaded .40-caliber semi-automatic handguns.

Police had been running tests on those weapons since the arrest, but it was not immediately clear if the guns have been linked to Tyshawn's murder.

Tyshawn Lee is seen in picture provided to CBS Chicago.
Tyshawn Lee is seen in picture provided to CBS Chicago. Courtesy Karla Lee

Morgan and co-defendant Dwight Boone-Doty were given $1 million bail for the gun charges. Morgan was released after posting his $100,000 bond. Morgan has been repeatedly questioned about Tyshawn's murder.

Tyshawn, who was in fourth grade, was shot multiple times at close range with a .40-caliber weapon after being lured into an alley near his grandmother's house on Nov. 2.

Corey Morgan is seen in a booking photo.
Corey Morgan is seen in a booking photo. Cook County Sheriff
9-year-old shot becomes Chicago's 40th murdered child 02:10

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has called Tyshawn's slaying "probably the most abhorrent, cowardly, unfathomable crime" he has seen in 35 years in law enforcement.

Police have said Tyshawn was lured into the alley and executed because of his father's gang ties and a recent series of shootings between rival gangs. Police have said he was targeted in retribution for the killing of Morgan's brother, Tracey Morgan, who was gunned down three weeks before Tyshawn was killed. Morgan's mother was shot in the arm during the attack.

The boy's father, Pierre Stokes, has repeatedly denied any involvement.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.