The frantic 911 calls that came the night Hadiya Pendleton was gunned down in a Chicago park were released Monday, and they included a key description of the shooter.

"I just heard shots fired, 44th and Oakenwald. A male black in a blue jacket about 5-8 just went ... northbound on Oakenwald," an anonymous caller said. "In a white Nissan. He's a passenger. He had a blue jacket, he was just shooting in the alley."

Several calls to 911 the afternoon of Jan. 29 were pierced with screaming in the background. One caller described six shots fired in the area and a little girl on the ground.

That girl, a 15-year-old King College Prep High School majorette, would become a symbol for local violence and the nation's debate over gun safety.

Pendleton was shot in the back days after she performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities in Washington. She was with a group of friends at Vivian Gordon Harsh Park when shots rang out.

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Two weeks later, Michaeil Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, were charged with first-degree murder in Pendleton's death. The description given in one of multiple 911 calls that night gave police their first leads.

Chicago police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Ward confessed to being the shooter, telling police Pendleton was not his intended target. McCarthy said the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting last July that left Williams injured.

"They thought the group they shot into included members of a rival gang," McCarthy said. "Instead, it was a group of upstanding and determined kids, who, like Hadiya, were repulsed by the gang lifestyle."

First Lady Michelle Obama went to Pendleton's funeral and President Obama has invoked the girl in several of his addresses, including one at a South Side Chicago school. 

"Unfortunately what happened to Hadiya is not unique," Obama said, calling for "commonsense" reforms. "It's not unique to Chicago. It's not unique to this country. Too many of our children are being taken away from us."

Pendleton's parents, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel Pendleton, attended the State of the Union address. Most recently a bill called Hadiya's Law was proposed by Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk that would crack down on so-called straw purchasing.

Related: Two charged with murder in Hadiya Pendleton shooting

Courtesy the Pendleton family

Hadiya Pendleton during her trip to Washington for President Obama's inauguration.

A week after Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton was shot dead, her killer is still on the loose -- but her family says they are confident they will see justice.

"It's just a matter of time when this person is turned in," said Shatira Wilks, a cousin of the 15-year-old whose death made headlines across the country, focused attention on Chicago's murder rate and became part of the national debate over gun control.

Pendleton was gunned down while hanging out with friends in a park near her well-regarded school, just days after she performed with a marching band during President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities.

Police suspect she was the innocent victim of a gang member who mistook the teens for rivals on his turf. A reward for his capture has grown by the day, and cops said tips are still coming in.

"This bounty is now $40,000," said Wilks, who is acting as the family spokeswoman while Pendleton's parents prepare for her funeral Saturday.

"I think the family member or friend of the person sheltering him is viewing it as a lottery ticket, watching it go up so quickly," she said. "And I believe that at some point, they are going to turn this person in for the money."

She said whoever raised the shooter failed society by not teaching him right from wrong and is now compounding it by letting him dodge responsibility.

"How can you allow parents to suffer like this?" she asked.

Pendleton's mother, Cleopatra Cowley, and her father, Nate "Anthony" Pendleton, are facing the nightmare of burying their only daughter this weekend. A thousand or more people are expected to attend Friday's wake and the funeral the next day.

"She has a large following in death, as well as in life," Wilks said. "And we are already seeing change in Chicago as a result of her death."

She pointed to the city's decision to remove 200 cops from desk duty and put them on the streets to fight crime and several anti-crime marches and vigils that have been held since the murder.

Related:

• Handful of Chicago neighborhoods see most murders
• Chicago marchers ask Obama for help over gun violence

Courtesy the Pendleton family

Family photos of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot in Chicago.

Funeral arrangements were announced Friday for the 15-year-old girl whose shooting death on Chicago's south side this week captured national attention.

Meanwhile, officials announced the pool of reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Hadiya Pendleton's killer had increased to $40,000.

Pendleton, a student at King College Prep High, was shot Tuesday afternoon as she and a group of other teens sought cover from a rain storm in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park, on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue. 

A visitation for the teen will be held Friday, Feb. 8 at Calahan Funeral Home, at 7030 S. Halsted St., from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. A wake and funeral will beheld the following day beginning at 9 a.m. at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church, at 5141 S. State St.

It was unclear late Friday if President Barack Obama would heed a request to attend the funeral, but a pastor confirmed the president did speak with the girl's parents.

"We thank him for that, and if he does come, that's fine. If he doesn't, we know he sends his love," said Pastor Courtney Maxwell.

Cops: Tips on Hadiya Pendleton's killer pour in

Earlier in the day, dozens marched from the girl's school to where she was gunned down, passing out leaflets along the way and pleading for the shooter to come forward.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said his officers were chasing a "ton of tips" from the community and felt confident that "something's going to pan out."

"If we get this guy into custody, we may save somebody else from going through what this family is going through right now, because that's a stone-cold killer," McCarthy said with Pendleton's heartbroken family and religious leaders at his side.

Online, moving tributes to Pendleton were being posted and shared so that no one forgets what's been lost while authorities search for a killer.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH Coalition planned to hold a Saturday rally in honor of Pendleton. Organizers planned to begin the event at 10 a.m. at the group's headquarters, at 930 E. 50th St.. Ministers, legislators, school officials, parents and other supporters then planned to march toward Vivian Gordon Harsh Park.

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Courtesy the Pendleton family

Hadiya Pendleton and friends during their trip to Washington for President Obama's inauguration.

Chicago cops have been deluged with tips about who might have shot Hadiya Pendleton, the high school sophomore killed a week after she performed during President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities.

"Fortunately, the community is stepping up and giving us everything that they've got, from rumors to whatever they know," Police Supt. Garry McCarthy told NBC Chicago on Friday.

"Something's gonna pan out."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has appealed to city residents to drop the no-snitching credo of the streets and come forward with any leads about Pendleton's killer.

Police and clergy also have offered a $40,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman who opened fire on a group of teens gathered in a park after school Tuesday, apparently mistaking them for rival gang members.

Pendleton, 15, was shot in the back, collapsed a block away and died at a hospital. The honor student quickly became the face of Chicago's stubborn gun problem.

The city leads the nation in gun seizures, and its murder rate has been edging up while other cities have been trending downward. More than 500 people were slain there last year, and last month was its bloodiest January in a decade.

On Friday morning, a woman was shot and killed when a van pulled alongside her van on Lake Shore Drive and a gunman fired up to 14 rounds. Police said the shooting was related to gang and drug activity.

Related:

• After Hadiya's death, Chicago to put 200 more cops on the street
• Chicago shooting victim starred in anti-gang video

Hadiya Pendleton's family faced the most heart-breaking of tasks Thursday: choosing the dress the 15-year-old shooting victim will wear at her funeral.

"It's been 48 hours of nothing but love, but now they need some time alone," cousin Shatira Wilks said.

The Chicago teen's death on Tuesday -- just a week after she performed during President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities -- put her loved ones in the spotlight.

They consoled the high school sophomore's many friends and cousins. They met with the mayor and spoke to the city's top cop.

Then they asked to be left alone for a day, so they could finalize plans to say farewell to a girl whose death had made headlines across the country and to grieve together.

For Pendleton's 10-year-old brother, Nate, known as Junior, that meant spending time in his big sister's now-empty room.

"He has been sleeping in her bed at night," Wilks said. "It's really sad. He was a serious little brother. And she loved being a big sister."

Pendleton was gathered with fellow members of the volleyball team in a park near the selective King College Prep High School when a gunman opened fire on the group Tuesday afternoon.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Hadiya Pendleton's parents, Nate and Cleo, and her 10-year-old brother, whom she called Junior.

Police believe the shooter mistakenly thought the teens were members of a rival gang hanging out on disputed turf. He has not been caught.

Pendleton's mother, Cleopatra Cowley, told MSNBC's Al Sharpton on Thursday how she was at work when she got the call that her daughter had been shot.

"I took the first cab I could come across to get to my baby," she said, racked with sobs. "Never in a million years did I imagine I would be getting a call that my baby was shot."

She spoke of her daughter's love of books, her wide-eyed trip to Washington and her promising future.

"She loved life ... and she didn’t want to be anything more than she was – and that was just 15," Cowley said.

The pastor of the family's church said there is a sliver of consolation in the knowledge that the teen's death is stirring more debate about crime and guns in a city where more than 500 people were murdered last year.

"Something has to be done," Pastor Courtney C. Maxwell said, not long after Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he was putting 200 more cops on the street. "I pray something positive comes out of this."

He said he had known Pendleton for about five years and was working on the tribute he will read to mourners at the Greater Deliverance Temple Church.

"What do you say about a young person to her hurt parents, to a hurt community, to a hurt nation?" he said.

Related:

• Friend: Slain Chicago teen said, 'I think I got shot,' then 'she just fell'
• Gunned down after 'the happiest day of her life'
• After Hadiya's death, Chicago to put 200 more cops on the street

Two days after a teen who performed at President Obama's inauguration weekend was gunned down, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is set to yank 200 cops from desk jobs and make them fight crime on the streets.

The reassignment was recommended by city officials last week, according to NBC Chicago, but it took on new significance Thursday as 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton became the face of Chicago's stubbornly high murder rate.

The sophomore was shot dead Tuesday while sheltering from the rain with fellow members of the volleyball team in a park near her well-regarded high-school, in an upscale section of Chicago's South Side less than a mile from President Obama's home.

The bullet that struck her upper back was meant for someone else, police said. No arrests have been made, and police increased the reward in the case to $24,000.

“When any young person in our city is gunned down without reason, it demands action from all of us,” Emanuel said at a press conference.

Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, shown here at a conference on gun violence, is set to announce he will put 200 more cops on the street.

“As we grieve for Hadiya, we need to work together to protect our greatest resource, the children of the city of Chicago.”

Emanuel said when he took office he redeployed 570 officers who were on desk duty and credited that with reducing Chicago’s overall crime rate by 8.5%, even as its murder rate increased.

There were more than 500 slayings in Chicago last year. That's about half the number there were in 1974, but still represented an increase over the previous year at a time when other cities are reporting steady decreases in homicides.

Hopes that 2013 would be less bloody were dashed by a grim statistic: 42 people were killed in Chicago this month, making it the deadliest January in more than a decade, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The death of Pendleton -- a majorette with the King College Prep marching band who traveled to Washington to take part in inauguration festivities -- sparked outrage across the nation.

At the White House, a spokesman said the Obamas were praying for her family. On Capitol Hill, her name was invoked during debate over gun control.

Emanuel said the police have been getting tips about who might have killed Pendleton and wounded a 16-year-old friend – both innocent victims caught in what investigators suspect was a gang-related turf war.

The mayor had a message for anyone with information: “Please step forward. That is what a good neighbor does.”

Hadiya Pendleton, center, with her school marching band in Washington a week before she was shot dead in Chicago.

Related:

Friend: Slain Chicago teen said, 'I think I got shot,' then 'she just fell'

Gunned down after 'the happiest day of her life'

Chicago shooting victim Hadiya Pendleton starred in anti-gang video

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Nate Pendleton comforts his son Nathaniel, 10, and his wife Cleopatra in a neighborhood park where his daughter Hadiya was killed.

Four years before she became the innocent victim of what may have been a gang turf war, Hadiya Pendleton starred in an anti-gang public-service video.

Courtesy the Pendleton family

Hadiya Pendleton and friends on her visit to Washington for President Obama's inauguration. She was shot in Chicago a week later.

She was a sixth grader at Carter G. Woodson Elementary School when she delivered a message against the kind of violence that led to her death in a Chicago park on Tuesday.

"Hi, my name is Hadiya... this commercial is informational for you and your future children," she says in the video, which was first reported by DNAinfo.com.

"So many children out there are in gangs, and it's your job to say no to gangs and yes to your future."

The other girl in the video pointed out that too many kids are killed by gang violence, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police say that appears to be exactly what happened to Pendleton, who was hanging out with volleyball teammates after school when a gunman opened fire on a group of teens. Only a week before, she had been part of a performance at President Obama's inauguration festivities.

Investigators believe the park Hadiya and her pals were in may have been at the center of a turf war, even though the kids were not affiliated with any gangs.

Pendleton's cousin, Shatira Wilks, said most of the family had never seen the video – part of an anti-violence project with the non-profit Digital Youth Network -- before it surfaced after her death.

"But it shows you about Hadiya's personality. She has always been a part of anything that represented good. She never liked being part of anything negative and that is why so many people loved her," Wilks said.

"This video is an affirmation, an acknowledgement of where she stood -- and the tragedy behind it is this is exactly how she died."

The Digital Youth Network said the student-produced piece was part of a project to counter violence through media, and called Pendleton a “learner and a creative voice.”

 “We are inspired by the passion Hadiya and the youth of Chicago have shown for sculpting a better future for themselves and others and will continue to support these efforts in any way we can,” the group said in a statement.

 At a press conference Thursday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city saw "both an increase in gun violence and gang-related activities" in the past year.

“Before a flame becomes a fire… put it out," he said in announcing new anti-crime measures.

Related stories:

• Friend: Slain Chicago teen said, 'I think I got shot,' then 'she just fell'
• Gunned down after 'the happiest day of her life'
• After Hadiya's death, Chicago to put 200 more cops on the street

dnainfo.com

Hadiya Pendleton, 15, a student at King College Prep, was killed Tuesday at a Chicago park near the school, authorities said.

A 15-year-old Chicago girl gunned down a week after she performed during President Obama’s inaugural festivities was remembered Wednesday as a “walking angel” – the last person her family could imagine dying by a bullet.

Hadiya Pendleton was an honor student, a marching-band majorette, and a doting big sister who thought about becoming a journalist or a pharmacist or even getting into politics after she witnessed history in Washington last week.

The biggest trouble the insatiable reader ever gave her parents: running up their credit card buying books on Amazon.

“I couldn’t ask for a better child,” her mother, Cleo Cowley, said through tears at her Chicago home. “She didn’t give me any hard time at all. She had a heart of gold.”

A sophomore at Chicago’s selective King College Prep High School, Pendleton was walking with fellow members of the volleyball team in a park Tuesday afternoon when the skies opened. They ducked under a canopy to get out of the rain, joining other teenagers.

At that moment, Chicago police say, a gunman came running down an alley behind the park, opened fire and then darted into a waiting vehicle and took off. No arrests have been made.

Courtesy the Pendleton family

Hadiya Pendleton during her trip to Washington.

Pendleton was struck in the upper back, and a 16-year-old schoolmate was hit in the leg. They ran about a block before she collapsed on the street, police said. She died at the hospital.

When it happened, her mother was at work at the TransUnion credit company, in a meeting. Her cellphone rang and she saw it was one of her daughter’s friends and quickly answered.

“She was screaming on the phone that Hadiya’s been shot, she’s been shot, and I just didn’t understand,” said Cowley. “I had to get someone to help me understand that my baby has been shot.”

The murder – about a mile from Obama’s Chicago home – quickly caught the attention of Washington during a day of debate over gun violence.

The White House called it a “terrible tragedy,” and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the shooter a “gangbanger” and a “punk” who had stolen the dreams of a girl with a bright future.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., was emotional as he spoke about Pendleton’s inauguration activities during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on guns.

 “Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she’s gone,” he said.

Cowley said the trip to Washington -- an invitation to a band competition that was part of the inauguration festivities -- was “everything” to her daughter.

“She was extremely excited about it, to go there and witness history and perform at the Capitol. She told me, ‘Mom, I might think about getting involved in politics,’” she said.

For the moment, though, she was focused on traveling with the band to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and a planned educational trip to Dublin, Paris and London in March. “She even thought about studying abroad,” her mother said.

At King College Prep, which is in an upscale neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, tears flowed Wednesday. The band played in her honor. Many students changed their Twitter handles to remember their fallen classmate, described as bubbly and sweet.

“She was always smiling and laughing,” said Tyler Genovesi, 14. “She was just a really nice person.”

Cousin Shatira Wilks recalled how Pendleton was designated to be the “elf” at Christmas this year and delighted in handing out gifts to everyone. The only presents she had asked for was books.

“Honestly, she was a walking angel,” Wilks said.

But also a normal teenager. She texted her friends like crazy, listened to rock music on her headphones, posted silly pictures of herself, and gently tweaked her parents on Twitter.

She had a 10-year-old brother, Junior, who worshipped her.

“He’s crushed because she loved, loved, loved her brother,” Cowley said. “From the moment I had him, she wanted a little sibling and at the age of 5 she started mothering him.”

“She had a heart that was huge,” her mother said, her voice cracking. “She had her own brain. She didn’t roll with the crowd. If there was someone being ostracized, she was their friend, because she said everyone needs a friend.”

In short, there was nothing about Pendleton that would have led anyone to predict that she would be shot – even in a city where more than 500 people were murdered last year and more than 40 have been killed this month.

Cowley said that two nights ago, she was watching a TV program about a woman who had lost all four of her children to gun violence.

“Never in a million years did I think I would get a call that my own baby had been gunned down the next day,” she said.

Told that her daughter’s death had been mentioned on the floor of the Senate, where Durbin complained that Chicago was “awash in guns,” Cowley’s composure broke and she began to sob.

“Something does need to change,” she said.

Related:

Tale of two cities: Homicides leap in Chicago, plummet in New York

Background checks take center stage at fractious Senate hearing