Reward in Hadiya Pendleton case increased to $40,000

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The Chicago Police Department on Friday announced an increase in the reward being offered for information leading to the killer of Hadiya Pendleton.

Pendleton, 15, was shot to death January 29th as she stood at a bus stop with friends after final exams at her school. A boy was wounded in what police believe was a drive-by in which Pendleton was not a target. She was shot in the back and died at the hospital.

The increase in the reward came via an additional $15,000 from St. Sabina, which describes itself as “an African-American Catholic community of faith” in Chicago. The organization had previously donated $10,000 to the reward fund.

Police say tips are pouring in already in the case, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has called on citizens to ignore the “stop snitching” credo that often keeps people silent out of fear of retaliation if they talk to police about a crime.

Pendleton, an honor student and majorette, had performed with her school’s marching band during events at President Obama’s second inaugural, just a week before she was killed. Her death has galvanized the Chicago community, where the murder rate has soared in the past year. Her death — in a suburb near the Obama family home — amplified calls for gun control measures to stem the violence that has racked American communities nationwide.

The teen was shot on the 4500 block of S. Oakenwald Street in Chicago, and anyone with information in the case was being asked to call 312-747-8380.

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