CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is investigating after 16-year-old Darrion Williams was shot and killed on the City’s Near West Side Friday night.

Darrion — nicknamed ‘Cheese’ because he was known for his smile — attended Crane Medical Prep High School where his family said he was a rising star as an athlete, making the varsity football and basketball teams as just a sophomore.

“We won’t get to see him smiling, unless we look at old videos or pictures, we won’t know what would have been if he had grew up,” said Darrion’s step-mother, Audrey Welch-Williams. “Once you take a jewel like that away, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Chicago police said Darrion was shot in the chest near North Hoyne Avenue and West Randolph Street on the City’s Near West Side. Family tells WGN he was staying at a friend’s house that night, but they still think it doesn’t make sense, and all they can hope for now is that police will find answers to who killed Darrion.

“That’s the only thing that we can anticipate, is that the person be apprehended and prosecuted to the highest degree of what he’s done,” Welch-Williams said. “So, I’m just asking everybody to just pray for the family and we hope that we get justice soon.”

Police have no one in custody in relation to investigating Darrion’s death.

If you or someone you know has information that can help police make a breakthrough in the investigation of this incident, anonymous tips can be filed online at cpdtip.com.