Crime
16-Year-Old Girl Found Beaten to Death in Chicago Horan Park Identified as Kayla Aaliyah Joyce Love
CHICAGO, IL – Authorities have identified the teenage girl found brutally beaten to death at a West Side park as 16-year-old Kayla Aaliyah Joyce Love, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
On March 17, 2025, Chicago Police responded to Horan Park, located at Van Buren and Whipple, after receiving reports of an unconscious female.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the teen lying face down, barefoot, and unresponsive.
Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene, but she was tragically pronounced dead on arrival (DOA).
A preliminary autopsy revealed that Kayla had suffered multiple blunt force trauma injuries to her head and neck, as well as stab wounds to her face.
According to police, Kayla was reported missing on March 16, 2025, after last being seen around 6:00 p.m. at a McDonald’s restaurant near Roosevelt and Kedzie with friends.
Employees at the establishment reportedly asked the group to leave around 8:00 p.m. due to disruptive behavior.
Authorities are investigating reports that a female was seen being assaulted by a male at Horan Park on the same night Kayla was reported missing.
It remains unclear whether this incident is connected to her death.
No suspects are currently in custody, and Area 4 Detectives are leading the homicide investigation.
Law enforcement officials are urging anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be submitted anonymously at CPDTIP.COM or by contacting the Chicago Police Department’s 11th District at (312) 746-8386.
Kayla, a junior at Manley High School, is the second Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student found deceased on the same day.
Less than three miles away, officers discovered the body of a 13-year-old boy—also reported missing—with a gunshot wound to the head, behind an apartment building.
Authorities continue to investigate both deaths as the community mourns the tragic loss of two young lives.
AUSTIN, Texas — A man was taken into custody Saturday afternoon following a shooting inside the Austin Central Library that left one person seriously injured and prompted a large emergency response and temporary shelter-in-place order in the downtown area.
According to the Austin Police Department (APD), officers responded shortly after 12:00 p.m. to reports of gunfire inside the Austin Central Library, located at 710 W. César Chávez Street.
Upon arrival, police and Austin-Travis County EMS units found one victim suffering from a gunshot wound.
The individual was transported to a local hospital in serious but stable condition.
Assistant Police Chief Lee Rogers stated during a press briefing that the shooter fled the scene before officers arrived.
After an extensive search, the suspect—identified as 55-year-old Harold Newton Keene—was located and arrested in South Austin at approximately 1:25 p.m.
The library was safely evacuated, and the shelter-in-place alert was lifted shortly after Keene’s apprehension.
Authorities emphasized that the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident involving only one suspect and one victim.
“This was not an active shooter situation,” Rogers confirmed.
Preliminary reports and public records reveal that Harold Newton Keene has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple arrests for assault, family violence, terroristic threats, burglary, drug possession, and evading arrest.
He is described by law enforcement officials as a habitual violent offender who has had numerous prior run-ins with police.
Records indicate Keene was previously arrested for threatening a man with a firearm several months ago and, in a separate incident, assaulted another inmate while in custody at the Travis County Jail.
In both cases, prosecutors later declined to pursue charges.
Authorities have not yet released a possible motive for the shooting or confirmed whether the suspect and victim knew each other.
The Austin Police Department’s Major Crimes Division is leading the investigation.
Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact the Austin Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS.