Man Charged With Murder In Valentine's Day Shooting of Lavontay White Jr., 2

CHICAGO, IL — A 26-year-old man faces a murder charge in connection with the triple shooting Tuesday on the West Side that killed a 2-year-old boy and his uncle and wounded the uncle's pregnant girlfriend, who lost her unborn child days later.

According to Chicago police Saturday morning, Devon Swan was charged in the Valentine's Day triple shooting. Swan made incriminating statements to witnesses and later made an incriminating statement during an interview with a detective that led to him being charged, authorities said. The investigation is still active and ongoing.

Swan is a convicted felon who has been arrested nine time and a documented gang member, police said.

"Over the last week, we've lost three young innocent lives to gun violence," Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a press conference Saturday. "And I'm sure every Chicagoan like me is tired of seeing this occur in some of our neighborhoods on the south and west sides of the city."

Lavontay White Jr., who had turned 2 only two weeks earlier, and his 26-year-old uncle, Lazarec Collins, were both shot in the head as they sat in a car Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the 2300 block of South Kenneth Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood. Collins' 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend, who streamed video footage of the shooting on Facebook Live, was wounded in the stomach as she fled the scene.

"Lavontay wasn't someone who made some bad decisions and lost his way or got involved in a gang conflict, he was just a little boy with his whole life ahead of him," Johnson said.

Johnson urged state lawmakers to address the problem not just of gun violence but of the "repeat gun offender problem."

"We don't just have a gun problem, we have a repeat gun offender problem that needs to be addressed immediately by state legislators," he said. "I'm asking them yet again for the action we need to make our city safer."

RELATED: Chicago Activist Says He'll Walk Lavontay White Jr.'s Shooter To Police Station To Ensure Safety

On Friday night, the woman, who was four months along, lost her unborn child, according to Fox 32 Chicago.

A $10,500 reward was established Friday for any information about the shooting. Richard Dent, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears, was among the Chicago business and community leaders who helped fund the reward, which has a tip line — 773-721-6178 — set up at the Sweet Holy Spirit Church on the South Side, the report stated.

Wakhonda Tyus, Lavontay's aunt, also created a GoFundMe campaign Wednesday with a goal of raising $20,000 to pay for the burial of the toddler, who she described as "The latest Most Precious Innocent Undeserving Jewel, Future I Have a Dream writer, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Activist, Leader, guaranteed succeeder, paw patrol and cars loving, just started walking, talking victim of Chicago's violence."

RELATED: Chicago Shooting That Killed 2-Year-Old Captured On Facebook Live

In two days, the campaign earned more than $4,500, enough to cover funeral expenses, according to Tyus.

How To Help

• Phone: Call the $10,500 reward tip line at 773-721-6178 with information about the shooting.
• Online: Go to the Lavontay White Jr. GoFundMe page to donate to the family.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Devon Swan, 26 (photo via Cook County Sheriff's Office)

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