15-Year-Old Boy Dead After Being Shot 24 Times While Out Buying Snacks

A 15-year-old boy has been reported dead after he was mercilessly shot 24 times while he was out buying snacks near a Chicago gas station on Saturday, Feb. 12.

The underage victim, identified as Sincere Cole, was left fatally injured after an unidentified gunman reportedly opened fire in the Chicago Lawn area on Saturday night, Feb. 12, and shot Cole at least 24 times while the minor was heading to a nearby gas station located at Western Avenue and Marquette Road for snacks, New York Post reported.

Days after the boy's death, the police have yet to reveal whether they have any suspects. Meanwhile, the minor's family members are begging witnesses with any information regarding the suspect to come forward.

“Someone seen something. Please speak out,” the victim's aunt and legal guardian, Brandy Martin, said. “Don’t wait for it to happen to you, and you have to stand in front of these cameras and ask for the same help you refuse to give.”

“I’ve got to stand up here and scream from inside out and make sure I get the word out so he won’t be another name, another number, another tag,” Martin said from the scene of the shooting.

Martin hopes that CCTV surveillance footage from nearby stores and apartments will help identify the suspect and help solve the crime, WGN-TV reported.

Martin said that Cole was a “lovable kid” and an “ambitious” child who had taken the initiative to better his life. She added that he was often misunderstood after his mother, Felon Smith, was fatally struck by a Chicago Transit Authority train in 2019.

Martin revealed that she had also lost her sister and daughter within the last three years. The Martin matriarch is still in shock three days after the murder of her nephew.

“Sincere was creative, ambitious. An entrepreneur at 15. He found a way,” Martin said.

“Standing at the gas station pumping people’s gas to make money; it’s better than knocking an old lady in the head for her purse. He didn’t have to die,” she added.

Meanwhile, the loved ones of Cole are pleading with the public to bring forth the suspect and help in their pursuit of justice.