The two men, ages 18 and 20, were picked up early Sunday at 67th and Martin Luther King Drive, and hours later, witnesses were brought in to the police station to see if they could identify the men in lineups, sources said.

 

The move comes a day after first lady Michelle Obama attended Hadiya’s funeral. Her death has drawn a national spotlight on violence in Chicago. On Friday, President Barack Obama will visit Chicago to address gun violence and other issues.

 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel called Hadiya’s mother, Cleopatra Pendleton, on Sunday morning to let her know the men were being questioned, according to a police source.

 

No charges had been filed as of Sunday evening.

 

“I am happy to know there’s a possibility that a potential murder has been prevented in the near future . . . if they have the right perpetrator,” Hadiya’s cousin, Shatira Wilks, said Sunday night. Wilks has been acting as a family spokeswoman. She said Hadiya’s parents were not commenting on the investigation but would release a statement if charges were filed.

 

Hadiya was killed in a park less than a mile from the Obamas’ Kenwood home a week after performing as a baton-twirling majorette at presidential inauguration festivities with the King College Prep band in Washington. Two other teens were wounded in the shooting.

 

A gunman jumped a fence and fired into a group of mostly King College Prep students who had gathered under a canopy at Vivian Gordon Harsh Park in the 4400 block of South Oakenwald to get out the rain. The shooter then fled in what police think was a white Nissan, possibly aided by a getaway driver, police said.

 

Hadiya had been taking exams at her nearby school earlier that day.

 

Police think the gunman mistook the group Hadiya was in for rival gang members, though none of the teens in the group was in a gang.

 

-- Sun-Times

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