Boy Shot, Killed In Playground Fight

A stray bullet fired during an argument over a playground basketball game struck a 9-year-old boy as he fled the gunfire. The third-grader died later, and a 20-year-old man was charged in the shooting.

Marcus Deback was shot in the head on Sunday and died Monday at Children’s Hospital, spokeswoman Kristin Bartelt said.

Alonzo A. McDade, 20, was charged in an arrest warrant with reckless homicide. McDade turned himself in Monday afternoon, police said.

Witnesses said about 20 youngsters were playing basketball when the argument began. One of the players left the court, got a gun from his car, came back and started shooting.

The gunman fired four to six shots, striking Marcus as he ran toward an exit in a chain-link fence that surrounds the playground, police Lt. James Ardis said.