Patrick Sykes Shot In Chicago: Teen Who Moved To California To Escape Violence Killed On South Side

After his father was gunned down in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood two years ago, Patrick Sykes was so determined to escape the city's violent streets he packed his bags and moved to California.

Thursday, the 15-year-old was shot dead just blocks from his childhood home having returned to visit friends and family over summer break, according to the Sun-Times.

Sykes was shot and killed Thursday afternoon around 12:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of West 85th Street, ABC Chicago reports. The medical examiner said the boy had been shot multiple times before he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

According to the Tribune, police say witnesses had conflicting accounts of whether Sykes' shooters were on foot or bicycles. Two people were taken into custody for questioning but released without charges late Thursday night.

The teen, described to the Sun-Times by friends and family as an aspiring fashion designer and "good student who loved video games, jokes, girls and basketball," had moved to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., six months prior to attend school and live with his aunt.

Sykes' mother Taminicka Smith, a preschool teacher, told the paper she didn't think her son would be a target of shootings "because this is not the lifestyle he lived. He had no [gang] affiliations. . . . He wanted to go back to California, finish school, go to Job Corps and pick up a trade. He wanted to be a fashion designer."

The family mourned that the teen had met the same fate as his father, Terrell Sykes, who was gunned down in an alley near 85th and Marshfield in October 2010.

In addition to Sykes, at least seven more people were shot around the city Thursday, though none of them fatally, according to DNAinfo Chicago.