Teen charged with killing recent University of Chicago grad during afternoon street robbery, police said

A Chicago man is accused of killing a recent University of Chicago graduate in a broad-daylight robbery last week.

Alton Spann, 18, was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown announced in a press conference.

Dennis Zheng, 24, a recent University of Chicago graduate, was shot and killed during an armed robbery near campus in the 900 block of East 54th Place around 2 p.m. on Nov. 9 afternoon.

Investigators said Spann approached Zheng on 54th Place and reportedly shot him in the chest before stealing his belongings.

Police said Spann then got in a black Ford Mustang that fled on 54th Place. Investigators used surveillance video and got the vehicle's license plate. The Mustang was reported stolen from Markham, Illinois, and investigators identified Spann from the videos, Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad told The Hyde Park Herald.

Zheng was from Chengdu, China, and earned a master's degree in statistics from the University of Chicago in 2021.