CHICAGO _ A gang member with a criminal record stretching back nearly 10 years has been charged with ordering a shooting that killed a 2-year-old boy on the Northwest Side earlier this month, the youngest victim to die by gunfire in Chicago this year.
Alex Varela, 27, is charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery. Police said they are still searching for the gunman and others in the killing of Julien Gonzalez.
Julien was shot in the neck around 10:15 p.m. Oct. 6 in the 2200 block of North Kilbourn Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood. The boy had been standing with an 18-year-old man in the alley when someone across the street opened fire with a 9mm handgun equipped with a laser sight, police said.
Varela "ordered his gang member friend to start shooting," Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said at a news conference Monday morning. "He gives a direct order to shoot at people."
The boy, who lived in the Southwest Side's Clearing neighborhood, was taken to Stroger Hospital where he died just before midnight. The 18-year-old was shot in the leg.
Police said the teen had no documented gang affiliation, but there were Maniac Latin Disciples at the house party, a source told the Chicago Tribune at the time of the shooting. As the fight unfolded, members of the Young Latin Disciples got involved, the source said.
Varela has admitted to being a Maniac Latin Disciple, according to police records.
Police held a roll call on Oct. 8 between Kilbourn and Belden streets to encourage anyone with information on the shooting to come forward. Police credited neighbors with helping identify Varela after the vigil.
"We had several witnesses come forward," Deenihan said.
