'Terrorists within our own city'

WASHINGTON HTS. | 17-year-old sitting in car killed by robber

Dequarrius Cannon was headed for the armed forces.

But police said a would-be robber cut those plans and the 17-year-old's life short, shooting him in the head Saturday night outside the Washington Heights home of a friend.

Dequarrius' uncle Travis Williams said the teenager had spoken with him about the U.S. Army but had talked with his grandmother about a goal of flying planes.

His grandmother and mother were cool to the idea of him serving and possibly being harmed in duty.

"They were leery of it. They were worried about something happening to him over there," Williams said. "I think there's more of a chance of him being hurt every day here, where your enemy looks just like you.

"There are terrorists within our own city, but we have yet to address that."

The teen was in the driver's seat of a car, his younger brother riding shotgun, in the 10500 block of South Peoria Street awaiting a friend for a night of food and games at his nearby Morgan Park house.

About 9 p.m. Saturday, a male approached the driver's side of the car and through the rolled-up window demanded, "Give me everything you all got," before immediately shooting Dequarrius in the head, Williams said.

His 16-year-old brother, visiting from Iowa, jumped atop Dequarrius' body and drove until he found the family home in the 10700 block of South Green.

"He ran in the house and told my mother and father that Dee had been shot," Williams said, adding that family members tried to resuscitate Dequarrius, but " 'he was dead when they shot him.' "

He was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. Sunday at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Family and friends described Dequarrius, an adoptee with four siblings in Iowa and one in Chicago, as a well-mannered, always-smiling, easygoing guy who was quick to joke and rib.

"He was one of the funniest people I ever knew," said his buddy Joel Shavers.

As he hit his teens, he would help out at his stepfather's custom clothing store, Phenomenal Designs by LaMar, where he'd meet the likes of basketball great Shaquille O'Neal and comedian Monique. His personality helped move suits.

"He was selling to the working men and was experiencing meeting different actors and professional ball players," said Jannice Robertson, one of his aunts.

Slated to start a new job at a Kmart store, Dequarrius enjoyed playing basketball -- he'd played in a league tournament from the age of 7 to about 14 -- and he fished with his uncle and grandfather, Williams said.

He attended the Pathways in Education program. Chicago Public Schools said he had withdrawn from CPS.

He'd occasionally accompany rapper and musician friends to recording studios, his uncle said.

"They were trying to get him to rap," Williams said.