Nationwide — Damarion Johnson, an 18-year-old African American student from Chicago, was shot and killed while riding in an Uber on the city’s West Side. The shooting happened just days before he was set to announce his college decision and accept a full basketball scholarship.
Chicago police said the attack took place in the Garfield Park neighborhood in the 200 block of North Homan Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. An Uber carrying two men, ages 38 and 18, was heading southbound in a white sedan when a gray SUV pulled up beside it. A suspect leaned out and opened fire on the vehicle.
The 38-year-old driver was hit in the arm and later died at a hospital. Johnson, who was seated in the back, suffered gunshot wounds to the body and was also pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital. The Cook County Medical Examiner confirmed Johnson’s identity.
According to ABC 7 Chicago, Johnson had been building his future through basketball and spent years training with Project sWISH Chicago, a youth program supporting inner-city athletes. He had received multiple full scholarship offers and was preparing to choose his college. Mentors said he saw basketball as his path to a better life.
“He just kept saying he wanted to make it out,” Project sWISH Chicago founder McKinley Nelson said. “He was just robbed of so many things. And I feel like he was on his way to making it out… He got an opportunity to go to college for free, right, from multiple places. So he was just weighing his options on what decision was best fit for him, and before he could announce that decision, his life was cut short.”
Christ the King Jesuit College Prep, where Johnson recently transferred, said the school community was grieving his death. In a statement, the school said staff and students were mourning the loss of a young student with a promising future and offered counseling support for those affected.
Uber said it is cooperating with investigators and extended condolences to the victims’ families. Chicago police said Area Four detectives are continuing the investigation, and no arrests have been made. Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest.