Family, friends mourn teenage girl shot and killed near Glenview, Illinois

Cook County Sheriff’s police detectives were searching for a person of interest Sunday after a teenager was shot and killed in the apartment where she lived in unincorporated Glenview the day before.

Lilly Bova, 16, was finishing up her sophomore year at Glenbrook South High School.

A day after Lilly’s life was taken, her dad and friends were trying to navigate their sudden loss as they pleaded for justice in what they called a murder.

As he set out photos of his daughter on frames in the grass on Sunday, Anthony Bova said he will always remember her as the little girl who liked to dress up.

“She could do anything. She was into everything,” said Anthony Bova. “She was a good person.”

Lilly was learning to drive. In fact, her dad took her to The Grove in Glenview a couple of weeks ago to practice.

“She was gorgeous,” said Madilynn Mendoza. “She was the prettiest girl I knew.”

Madilynn was a lifelong friend of Lilly’s, and lived next to Lilly in the Salem Walk apartments, near Milwaukee and Lake avenues.

“I’m her neighbor,” Madilynn said. “I could see into her window.”

Lilly’s dad said she lived in the complex with her older sister. The Cook County Sheriff’s police said Lilly was shot there around 11 a.m. Saturday.

The Sheriff’s office said Lilly ended up dying at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Authorities have not provided information on the circumstances that led up to the shooting, or whether Lilly knew her shooter or if the shooting was random.

Laila Milanovic and Sasha Banaban are two of Lilly’s Glenbrook South classmates.

“We have a piece of her shirt,” Laila said. “We cut into a bracelet.”

Laila and Sasha said they met Lilly only a couple of years ago, but her personality was infectious.

“Her energy. She’s so bubbly — she brings a smile to everyone’s face,” said Sasha. “When she walks in a room, everyone wants to talk to her and be around her.”

“We’re going to be like Lilly,” added Laila. “We’re going to live like her. We’re going to bring her energy. We’re going to bring her love into this world.”

In a letter to families, Glenbrook South High School officials wrote: “Though Lilly was a quiet spirit, her teachers and those who knew her best said she loved deeply and was bright, positive and mature beyond her years. Her kind-hearted and optimistic nature will be sorely missed.”

Grief counselors were to be available Monday at Glenbrook South High School as the community continues to mourn.

Meanwhile, the Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, also known as The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, said Sunday that it will plant a tree in Lilly’s honor. The tree will be planted in the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina as part of the foundation’s Trees for Peace Initiative.

The foundation is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Bova’s murder.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cook County Sheriff’s police detectives at 708-865-4896.