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Two men were held without bond today after being charged with fatally shooting a teen and wounding two other men in the Austin neighborhood.The two had shot and killed Damier Love, 16, Thursday as part of a plan to target members of a rival gang operating in the neighborhood, a prosecutor said today.Cortez Powell, 25, of the 700 block of North Lockwood Avenue, and Brian Ward, 22, of the 9500 block of Maple Drive in Rosemont, were each charged with one count of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to a police news release.Powell also was charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm. The two were ordered held without bond today by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jackie Marie Portman.Love and two men ages 45 and 53 were standing in front of a liquor store in the 5300 block of West Chicago Avenue around 12:45 a.m. Thursday, when Ward, Powell and a third man who has not been charged approached the store and began firing, said Asst. State's Atty. Emily Stevens at today's bond hearing.Witnesses said they saw Ward fire multiple times in Love's direction, and when the teen fell to the ground, Ward stood over the victim and continued firing, Stevens said. Love, of the 4800 block of West Hubbard Street, was dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The 45-year-old man was shot in the hip and remains in Stroger Hospital after having been stabilized, while the 53-year-old was treated and released for a gunshot wound to the thigh, she said.
Love did not know the two men injured in the shooting, Stevens said. Love apparently was the only target, Police Officer David Banks said earlier this week.After the shooting, Ward, Powell and the other man fled the scene, and Powell was apprehended a short time later by police officers.
Under questioning, Powell said he had met up with Ward and the third man knowing that they were going to "shoot some Stones," referring to members of a South Side street gang, Stevens said. Powell told police he and the other two men were armed, and he fired his gun into the air during the incident.After police apprehended Ward, he told police that he had fired his gun at one of the injured men, Stevens said. Both Ward and Powell were also wearing latex gloves during the incident.Both men had several prior felony charges, Stevens said.Love was a Chicago Public Schools student who was enrolled at Marshall High School, said Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond. She did not know what grade Love was in. Love is the 34th district student killed this year.
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