Hillcrest to hold vigil for Royall

Updated: June 6, 2011 6:34PM

Hillcrest High School will hold a vigil in memory of Ryan Royall, a 17-year-old student who was shot to death early Sunday morning, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The vigil will begin in the school’s gymnasium and proceed to the front of the school, 175th Street and Pulaski Road in Country Club Hills.

Royall, who had just completed his junior year, was an up-and-coming talent on the Hawks basketball team.

He and a group of friends were leaving a birthday party at Ho-Chunk Sports and Expo Center in Lynwood when they heard a disturbance. Shots rang out and Royall was hit multiple times. He was pronounced dead at 1:21 a.m. at Franciscan St. Margaret Mercy Health Care in Dyer, Ind.

Lynwood Police Detective Jessie Hernandez said Monday that witnesses were being interviewed regarding the shooting but there were no suspects and no arrests have been made.

Police estimated 300 to 500 people were in attendance at the birthday party.

“We have a ways to go because there were so many people there,” Hernandez said.

He said it was too soon to tell whether the shooting was gang-related. Although the incident occurred about 12:30 a.m., Hernandez was uncertain whether any attendees could be charged with curfew violations because it was a private party on private property.

He said police were not aware of the gathering until they were called about the shooting.

The general manager of the Ho-Chunk Sports and Expo Center, Robert Funmaker, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Contributing: Steve Metsch

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