Ali Malone was among those releasing silver, black and blue balloons Thursday afternoon outside the South Side YMCA, yelling "We love you, king."It was in honor of her cousin Eric Billups, 16, who was fatally shot Wednesday — at the same place and about the same time that she and others gathered a day later to mourn him. A Hyde Park Academy High School classmate also was wounded. "He was a baby, he didn't deserve this," Malone said. "It's senseless, it's stupid and something has to change."Jerri Billups, Eric's grandmother, also was there Thursday afternoon. She said Eric was an avid football and basketball player who could answer any question she threw his way. He "kept her knowing" with his smarts, she said. Now she and other family members looking for answers to questions they didn't expect to ask."He wasn't into nothing, I don't understand why [he was shot] five times. Why?" Ali Malone, a cousin of Eric Billups, writes a message for Eric on a poster on Thursday at the bus stop outside the South Side YMCA in Hyde Park. Anastasia Busby/For the Sun-Times Police statements and CPD reports obtained by the Sun-Times outline what police believe happened.The shooter and Billups had made plans to fight each other after school Wednesday, witnesses told police. After school was dismissed, Eric and a 16-year-old girl went to a bus stop in the 6300 block of South Stony Island Avenue, about a block from Hyde Park Academy. Around 3:25 p.m., the suspect walked up to him, pulled a handgun out of his backpack and opened fire.It was unclear what the dispute was about, but the alleged shooter, who had been released from school early, returned to the area still wearing a Hyde Park Academy uniform, according to the police reports.Eric was shot at least five times and was unresponsive at the scene, officers said. He was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition and pronounced dead at 3:48 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.Police found 12 shell 9mm casings and two book bags at the scene, the report said. No arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon.The girl, also 16, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was listed in fair condition after being shot in her calf.Eric's mom was too distraught to speak when reached by a Sun-Times reporter. Eric Billups’ mom, Rolanda Phoenix (left), greets family and friends before the balloon release to honor her son on Thursday at the bus stop outside the South Side YMCA in Hyde Park.Anastasia Busby/For the Sun-Times In a letter sent to the Hyde Park Academy community, Principal Rosette Edinburg noted "some members of our school community were impacted by this incident" and the school was working to offer support services through the CPS Crisis Management Unit and its own school-based mental health professionals. "We are extremely saddened by this incident and will do everything we can to help our school community heal," the letter states.“All of us at Chicago Public Schools are saddened to learn of the loss of a young person’s life, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, school and community members impacted by this tragedy,” CPS said in a statement. Billups used to drive her grandson to the Kenwood-based high school from their West Side home when he was a freshman, but stopped as he got older. She worried about his safety, and continues to worry about other students. She said she wants to see security outside the school now."I didn't want him on the bus," Billups said. "Now this happened. ... You don't know until it hits your house, and it hit me pretty hard. He's well missed."Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) said Thursday morning he was "still processing" the shooting in his ward.Yancy noted it's been a "rough few weeks" for the Hyde Park Academy community. Violet Harris, a 15-year-old student, was killed after a vehicle crashed into the electric scooter she was riding last month in South Shore and Lania Smith, an 18-year-old senior, was killed in a hit-and-run in Dolton earlier this month."It's still difficult to understand how young people are dealing with trauma and grief while still having easy access to handguns," Yancy said. "[But] it's better for us to try and find ways to support each other through this moment and at the same time figure out what role you can play in impacting young people so that this violence doesn’t become an option for them." Posters of sixteen-year-old Eric Billups are taped to the fence Thursday at the bus stop outside the South Side YMCA in Hyde Park, where Eric was fatally shot on Wednesday. Eric went to Hyde Park High School across the street.Anastasia Busby/For the Sun-Times ...read more read less