Teen Killed Hours After Sister Watched Obama Speech On Violence

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Feb 18, 2013 5:40PM

Police are questioning two people in the shooting death of an 18-year-old woman whose sister had attended Pres. Barack Obama's speech on violence hours before her death. Janay McFarlane was in North Chicago on Friday night visiting visiting friends and family when she was shot in the head. Police say McFarlane's friend was the intended target.

Earlier that afternoon day, her sister Destini, 14, was seated onstage behind Pres. Obama as he delivered a speech on violence at Hyde Park High School prompted by the nearby shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. The Sun-Times writes:

Destini, a freshman at Hyde Park, said she can’t stop thinking about what the president said.

“Barack Obama said teenagers are killing each other,” the teen said Saturday night. “He was saying we need to cut down on street violence.”

Janay McFarlane had been a student at Hyde Park Academy, but left when she became pregnant. Her son Jayden is three months old.

North Chicago police say input from community members led to identifying two men, ages 18 and 20, for questioning. No charges have been filed.

Related: Video and transcript of Pres. Obama's remarks Friday at Hyde Park Academy