Chicago police are investigating the murder of a 9-year-old boy who they believe was tricked into going into an alley where he was killed. Young Tyshawn Lee was on his way to visit his grandmother on Chicago’s South Side when he was apparently convinced to follow someone into a nearby alley.

Passersby heard some scuffling and loud voices and then a couple of gunshots. When a neighbor went into the alley he found the fourth grader lying on the ground dead. The boy had been shot in the back and in the head, according to The Washington Post. The neighbor found him surrounded by a large pool of blood with his basketball resting just a few feet away.

The witness who found young Lee’s body told police that he saw nothing in the immediate area. He didn’t see anyone around or running and didn’t see a car trying to escape the scene. The boy was murdered on Monday and police believe it was because of gang affiliations of his father.

There has been an active gang war, police report, going on Chicago that seems to have begun back in August. This current gang-related violence is some of the deadliest and most gruesome that The Windy City has ever seen. Police note that there have been more murders in Chicago this year than days that have elapsed in the year so far. Police don’t expect the gang violence to end anytime soon.

Police report that they have some solid leads with regard to the gangs involved and likely suspects. Police note, however, that this is the first time a non-gang member has been murdered. Chicago PD is playing it all close to the chest as they don’t want the gangs to know what intelligence they have. It is believed that the boy’s father, a member of one of the warring gangs, may even know who murdered his son.

The month-long war in Chicago is being fought between The Gangster Disciples and the Black P Stones gangs. Several people have already been killed in the turf war.