Young man featured in 'Chicagoland' shot to death

Lee McCullum, young man featured in 'Chicagoland,' found shot to death

By Ralph Ellis and Sheena Jones, CNN
Updated 0318 GMT (1118 HKT) May 13, 2016
Man featured in 'Chicagoland' found shot dead

Man featured in 'Chicagoland' found shot dead 02:18
(CNN)Lee McCullum was a hopeful figure in "Chicagoland," the 2014 documentary that aired on CNN about the violent streets of that city.
He changed his life, emerging from homelessness and being a gang member to become a student leader with a chance to attend college.
"When we saw him win homecoming king it just brought tears to our eyes," said Marc Levin, executive producer of the documentary. "He lived through the gang wars and made it to his senior year -- it was a moment we had so much hope."
But McCullum's story ended early Thursday morning.
The 22-year-old man was found dead in the 500 block of West 126th Street, shot in the back of the head, Chicago police said. At this point, nobody knows why it happened or who killed him.
The news of his death disheartened many people because McCullum appeared to be trying to escape the violent street culture that earned Chicago the nickname "Chi-Raq."
"He was a great kid," said Liz Dozier, who knew McCullum when she served as his principal at Fenger High School. "I think people (watching the documentary) got to see what a great person he was and the complexity of what he faced and how he handled it with grace. ...
"He wanted to go to college and play basketball. He was a great person and I just can't believe he's dead. It's just unreal when you think about it. The streets have got yet another young male."
In the series, McCullum said he moved out of the city for a while after high school because he feared for his life -- only to return. CNN affiliate WGNTV said he had a job and wanted to attend college but kept having trouble with gangs.
In 2014 he was wounded in a drive-by shooting. Less than a month ago, his girlfriend -- the daughter of a Cook County sheriff's deputy -- was fatally shot getting out of a car on the city's Southside, WGNTV reported.
Levin said he was heartbroken to hear about McCullum's death.
"It's sad how many young men in the hood have opted the culture of the NRA -- the only way to deal with a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun," he said.
It's not known if McCullum was still involved in gangs. Chicago police noted he was a documented gang member.
In the documentary, McCullum talked to Dozier about his life and concluded the conversation by saying, "I don't want to hear about anything bad happening and I don't want to be going to your funeral."
As of Thursday night, funeral arrangements had not been announced.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Washington DC might become a state, and get a new name

Image
Washington DC might become a state, and get a new name Washington DC might become a state, and get a new name Washington DC might become a state, and get a new name As the capital of the United States, Washington DC is not  one of the 50 states. It’s a “federal district,” hence “District of Columbia,” shortened to “D.C.” But that could soon change, as they are currently bidding for statehood . If that happened, Washington DC would become the 51st state, and its leaders would give it an entirely new name. That name could quite likely be “New Columbia,” an old name that was approved by voters in a 1982 referendum in which Washington DC tried for statehood. It originates from Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who is obviously a critical part of U.S. history. Washington, D.C. could have been renamed "Anacostia," but advocates for statehood chose "New Columbia." 󾓬󾓦󾓬󾓦󾓬󾓦… Posted by International B...
Read more

How Long Can You Go Without Washing Your Hair?

Image
How Long Can You Go Without Washing Your Hair? [Photo: Pexels] How often do you wash your hair? Once a day, every other day or as little as once a week? However often you might think your hair needs a good rinse, it’s probably not as much as you would expect.  We’ve all heard that whipping out the shampoo too often can make hair oily over time - but, of course, grease can also build up when locks aren’t washed regularly enough.  Most experts agree that we don’t need to be over zealous when it comes to washing our locks. So, what’s the right routine? “All hair is different but a general rule is not to over wash,” explains Lorraine Rose, founder of D&L Hair Products. “We tend to wash our hair for two reasons: Grease and smell. However, when hair is ‘never washed’ the smell does vanish after a period of time and the natural oils in the hair and scalp self-clean the hair.” And it’s a tried and tested theory. In 2012, blogger Lucy Aitke...
Read more

Ryan Gosling Repeatedly Storms Out of ‘Late Show’ Interview

Ryan Gosling Repeatedly Storms Out of ‘Late Show’ Interview Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to promote their new movie, The Nice Guys . In what was clearly a planned bit, Ryan claimed that his agent told him that Russell refused to do the movie unless Ryan would do it with him. Russell acted surprised by this information and then said he didn’t really need Ryan for the movie or the interview. The next few minutes of Gosling storming out — repeatedly — will go down as one of the most epic exits of all time! Gosling started by saying bye to everyone while tearing a piece of paper on Colbert’s desk, throwing a pen on the ground, grabbing a book off the shelf and placing it on the ground, and then finally exiting out the door. The former Sexiest Man Alive then walked behind the set and out another exit before reappearing with the band as he banged on a cowbell. Ryan continued “leaving” until Colbert handed a T-shirt gun to C...
Read more