9-year-old Ulysses Campos killed at grandma’s birthday party

A 9-year-old Chicago boy was killed in a drive-by shooting while playing outdoors with other children during his grandmother’s birthday celebration, police said.

Ulysses Campos was attending the 70th birthday party in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park on Saturday night when a gunman fired a volley of four to six shots from inside a moving car in a nearby alley, according to the local police.

The grade-schooler was the only person who was struck by the gunfire, reported the news channel WLS.

Ulysses was taken to Loyola Hospital, where he died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Franklin Park police said a person of interest in the deadly drive-by shooting was in custody. They have not been publicly identified as of Monday.

A car associated with the crime was later recovered in Leyden Township.


Ulysses Campos, 9
Ulysses Campos, 9, was attending his grandmother’s 70th birthday part in suburban Chicago when he was killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday.
GoFundMe

Police on the scene of deadly drive-by shooting in Franklin Park, Illinois
A gunman opened fire in an alley in Franklin Park, Illinois, while Ulysses was playing outside with other children.
WLS-TV

Cops described the boy’s shooting as an isolated incident and said there was no threat to the general public.

It was not immediately clear whether Ulysses was the intended target of the shooting.

A makeshift memorial of balloons, candles and flowers has been growing near the scene of the tragedy.


Shooting scene in Franklin Park, Illinois
Ulysses was struck by a bullet in the chest and died at a hospital less than an hour later.
WLS-TV

Balloons honoring 9-year-old boy seen at makeshift memorial
A memorial of balloons and flowers has been growing at the scene of the boy’s fatal shooting.
WLS-TV

Ulysses’ devastated family members said he loved Batman and playing video games. He would have turned 10 in just two weeks.

A relative who started a GoFundMe page described Ulysses — lovingly nicknamed “Uly Bear” — as “a kindhearted, loving kid” who was “always full of excitement.”