Tears flowed freely as young Nigerian player Kabiru Adewunmi was laid to rest in Chicago’s  at the Muslim Community Center in Albany Park.

Adewunmi, a rising soccer star with the Chicago Fire Juniors North team, was shot to death last week Tuesday as he and four friends left a Chatham neighborhood convenience store. Police said the 16-year-old was heading back to his apartment after celebrating a Chicago Bulls playoff win when he was riddled with bullets.

KABIRU

The boys were approached by a group of men who asked, “Are you the Nigerian soccer players?” They said they were, and the shooting ensued.

Investigators said they believe that the shooting, which occurred just before 9:30 p.m. in the 800 block of East 82nd Street, may have been gang-related. Adewunmi was not involved in gangs and had only recently moved to the neighborhood, those who knew him said.

“This is a very difficult day and hard to understand,” said Sole Antonijevic, who coached Adewunmi in the under-17 league. “Not just as a coach but as a parent myself.”

At the mosque, emotions ran high and tears flowed as teammates wearing red Fire jackets circled the casket in a sort of honor guard as people paid their last respects. The friends who witnessed Adewunmi’s death were inconsolable.

“No amount of crying will bring Kabiru back,” said Imam Sakiru Nasir of the Nigerian Islamic Association. “The only thing we can do now is to continue praying for him.”

Adewunmi’s teammates are taking their friend’s death hard, said Michael Shipp, 17, of Lake Forest.
“This is almost too much for a lot of the kids to handle,” Shipp said sadly. “Kabiru was the most positive, selfless person I’ve ever met. He shouldn’t’ have died like this.”

Adewunmi, a sophomore at Amundsen High School, came to Chicago less than a year ago after winning a spot on the teen soccer league. He had a “passion for life and was hardworking and intelligent,” Antonijevic said adding that there was “no history of trouble” in his past.