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Teen who rallied to remove police from Chicago schools is tragically shot to death
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Teen who rallied to remove police from Chicago schools is tragically shot to death

Heartbreaking

Caleb Reed, a 17-year-old student activist from Mather High School in Chicago, was found shot in the head on Friday.

The teen's death comes just weeks after he publicly called for the district to remove police from district schools.

What are the details?

Reed, described by the Chicago Sun-Times as a "student leader with a youth activist group," was discovered on a sidewalk of the West Rogers Park neighborhood in the city.

He had been shot in the head.

The teen, a leader with student group Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, was an advocate of removing police from Chicago schools.

No suspect have been named in Reed's death at the time of this reporting.

'I'm proud to be a black young man'

Just weeks ago, Reed spoke at a board of education meeting in support of removing police from the district. During the meeting, he recalled his own experience with officers in his school.

During the meeting, Reed said, "My sophomore year of high school I was arrested for attending a basketball game because I didn't have my ID. I sat in a police station for six hours. I knew it wasn't right at all, but inside I was angry, confused.

"One thing I'm here to say is I'm proud to be a black young man," the teen activist added. "It's not a good feeling to be labeled as dangerous or criminals. Because we're not. ... No black person should ever feel like this."

A GoFundMe page to benefit Reed's family has so far received nearly $6,000 in donations.

'Light and potential have been extinguished at the hands of gun violence'

In a statement, Alderman Andre Vasquez said, "Caleb was a son, a brother, a community organizer, and a neighbor. His light and potential have been extinguished at the hands of gun violence, like so many brothers in Chicago. As a city, we need to address the root causes of this violence, which is the segregation and disinvestment in the communities that need it the most for generations now."

He added, "Caleb was also an activist and advocate — most recently for the movement to remove school resource officers out of Chicago Public Schools. I ask that we honor his work by continuing it and we pray for his family."

On Twitter, Vasquez added, "Caleb lived and was shot in our ward this weekend. He was a light in our community that was extinguished too soon. We need to address the root causes of #GunViolence so that we stop losing our people. I ask that people help continue the work he was doing and pray for the family."

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