Tyree J Wise

Tyree J. Wise, a 16-year-old African-American boy from Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, is remembered by those who knew him as a loving and outgoing young man. A student at Milton Brunson School, his warm personality left a deep and lasting impression on his friends and family. His life was tragically cut short in a violent home invasion that also claimed the life of another teenager, leaving a community to mourn the loss of two of its young members and to confront the persistent reality of gun violence.

On the evening of Thursday, November 16, 2017, Tyree was with two friends inside a yellow brick courtyard building in his home neighborhood of Austin on Chicago's West Side. At approximately 5:45 p.m., as the three teenagers stood in the vestibule of the building in the 5600 block of West Washington Boulevard, an unknown individual entered, demanded their property, and then opened fire. The sudden and brutal attack turned a commonplace evening into a scene of tragedy.

Tyree was shot in the head. His friend, 15-year-old Charlie Lawrence, who was from the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side, was shot in the back. The Cook County medical examiner’s office pronounced both boys dead at the scene at 5:59 p.m., less than fifteen minutes after the shooting. A third victim, a 14-year-old girl, was shot in her right leg. Despite her injury, she was able to get herself to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where her condition was stabilized. Tyree had lived just a short distance away, in the 800 block of North Central Avenue in South Austin.

The Chicago Police Department responded to the scene, cordoning off the area as Area North detectives began what would become a complex double homicide investigation. The incident was classified as a home invasion and robbery, a violent intrusion that ended two young lives. The Austin neighborhood, like many areas on the city's West Side, has contended with significant challenges related to violent crime, and this shooting underscored the dangers that residents, particularly young people, frequently face.

The deaths of Tyree Wise and Charlie Lawrence sent shockwaves through their respective communities, prompting an outpouring of grief and renewed calls for an end to the violence that takes young lives with devastating frequency. In the years following their deaths, their names have been included in memorials and lists, such as the Congressional Record in 2018, that honor the young victims of gun violence in Chicago. These remembrances serve as a solemn reminder of the human cost of the city's ongoing struggle with crime and the futures that are stolen with each life lost.

As of the latest available information, the investigation into the murders of Tyree Wise and Charlie Lawrence remains open. No arrests have been publicly announced, and no suspects have been named. The case continues to be an active homicide investigation by the Chicago Police Department. The profound loss of Tyree is deeply felt by his family and friends, who remember a vibrant young man full of potential. His death, alongside that of his friend Charlie, remains an unsolved crime and a painful wound for a community that continues to hope for justice.