A 17-year-old Chicago star athlete was riddled with six bullets in a drive-by shooting after a passenger in a gray car opened fire on the victim in front of his home.
Everett Henderson, a gifted senior running back for Vocational High School was shot on Sept. 10, on his front porch, just hours after a football game against Rich East High School in Park Forest, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
“He was shot in his butt, chest, twice in the hand and in his stomach,” said Vocational Head Coach Larry Williams. “His mom said surgery was successful. However he lost half of his intestine and he will have to be in a wheelchair for a while. They are worried about how much movement he'll have in his left leg. It’s good that they got to him in time. The wounds aren’t life-threatening, but career-ending from what I was told.”
Henderson was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and is said to be in stable condition.
Henderson was on the radar of Division I college football scouts, including Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Western Illinois.
In a profile by The Public League entitled, “Watching Vocational’s Everett Henderson run is something to behold,” coaches and teammates gushed over Henderson’s athletic prowess.
“He makes a lot of moves that take my breath away,” Vocational quarterback Quentin Coleman said. “He never gets tired. And he goes 100 percent every play.”
Coach Williams said in the Sept. 9 published piece, “He works hard in practice. He’s tenacious. He’s just hungry. … (Hungry) to be special, and he’s trying to get better for the next level.”
Henderson wasn’t only a talented football player, but also ran track and played basketball. He transferred from Julian High School to Vocational during the middle of his junior year to get away from rough surroundings, according to Williams.
“There were some issues that were going in the neighborhood at Julian,” said Williams. “[Henderson] is a tremendous kid. We didn’t have any problems with him at the school. I don’t know what he did on the streets, but he’s an awesome kid in the school.”
Williams added, “He doesn’t talk back, very, very coachable. He’s a great leader. I don’t have anything negative to say about him. He’s done everything I’ve asked.”
Henderson’s days as an athlete are more than likely behind him, said Williams.
“It isn’t about football anymore,” he said. “It’s just how he is going to bounce back and continue to live his life.”
