Hadiya Pendleton: Two Charged Over Shooting

Two men have been charged with murder after the fatal shooting of a Chicago teenager.

The pair - Kenneth Williams, 20, and Michael Ward, 18 - were taken into custody overnight Saturday into Sunday following the killing of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton on January 29.

They have been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm.

Hadiya was shot dead about a mile from Barack Obama's home on the city's South Side.

Days earlier the band majorette had performed at the president's inauguration celebrations in Washington DC.

Police believe the shooter opened fire on a group Hadiya was with after mistaking someone for a rival gang member.

Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the shooting was meant as retaliation for Williams being shot in the arm last July.

"Ward confessed and indicated Hadiya was not the intended target. They got it all wrong," he said.

Ward told investigators he was the gunman and Williams was driving the getaway car, he added.

The pair were picked up while on their way to a strip club on the same day first lady Michelle Obama joined mourners attending Hadiya's funeral.

Police had figured out that the description of the getaway car matched one Williams had been pulled over in a day before the shooting.

However Supt. McCarthy noted the breakthrough did not come via a tip from the community.

"I'm sad to point out we did not get our target audience to step up," he said.