Keno Glass

Keno Glass was a 16-year-old with a dream of rapping his way to a better life for his family. Known by the moniker Kay Pee Lashore, the Chicago teen poured his energy into his music, seeing it as a ticket out of the city's dangers. Friends and family remembered Keno as a humble and loving person who played football and basketball at Nicholas Senn High School. His older brother, Antwan Hubbard, said Keno had a good heart and was pursuing a music career to "make a change for everybody." Though he struggled with school attendance, Keno was focused on his goals, inspired by other Chicago rappers who had found success. He was the cousin of another slain rapper, Joseph "Lil JoJo" Coleman, and was keenly aware of the violence that often shadowed the city's hip-hop scene.

In the early hours of April 15, 2014, during his spring break, Keno was returning from a friend's amateur recording studio where he had just recorded a new song. At about 2:40 a.m., he was on the sidewalk in the 7600 block of North Ashland Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood, just a block from the Evanston border. He knocked on the first-floor window of a friend's apartment. Moments later, a gray minivan pulled up, and someone inside opened fire, unleashing four or five gunshots. Keno was struck in the head. Police and paramedics arrived quickly, but it was too late. Keno Glass, an African-American male, was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 3 a.m.

A neighbor watching from his second-floor apartment window saw Keno lying on the sidewalk and heard someone crying. Responding officers saw a vehicle fleeing the area, which led to a brief chase before the vehicle crashed. Police apprehended and questioned at least two persons of interest in connection with the shooting, but no charges were ever filed. The motive for the killing remained unclear to investigators. In the morning, a maintenance worker was left to pour bleach and hot water on the sidewalk to wash away the blood.

Friends and family insisted that Keno was not involved in gangs, though some of his song lyrics referenced gang culture. His girlfriend, Tori Flowers, believed he was a victim of "guilty by association," suggesting that the perpetrators were looking for anyone in the neighborhood that morning. A friend, Kenneth Sandy, described the violence not as a gang issue but as "neighborhood s---," lamenting that Keno had been caught up in it. The shooting occurred in a part of Rogers Park that had been troubled by ongoing feuds between rival gang factions, and his death was one of several recent acts of gun violence in the area that had residents on edge.

In the wake of his death, Keno’s loved ones were devastated. His brother described him as a "good child" who didn't use drugs. His girlfriend was so grief-stricken she couldn't eat for days. To honor his memory, Keno's friends and family created a tribute music video for the last song he ever recorded, prophetically titled "I Wanna Live Forever." The video featured his loved ones dancing and ended with personal tributes, including a message from his mother, Vivian Slaughter: "Keno I love you and I miss you, and I hope you're resting well."

The murder of Keno Glass was highlighted by U.S. Representative Robin Kelly in a speech on the House floor in May 2014 as she listed the names of 19 young people killed by gun violence in Chicago that April. His death underscored the persistent violence that stalked the city's youth, cutting short a life full of promise before it had a chance to fully bloom.

The case remains unsolved. As of the latest reports from the time, no suspects have been charged with the murder of Keno Glass. The Chicago Police Department investigated the homicide, but the trail went cold after the initial persons of interest were questioned and released. His family continues to mourn a son and brother who was just trying to make it big and create a better future.