The Chicago boy who was found executed in an alley was “specifically targeted” and lured to the location where he was killed on Monday.

Police say 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee was specifically targeted due to his father’s alleged gang affiliations. Police believe Lee’s death was in retaliation for the recent murders of 2 gang members.

Lee was lured into an alley and shot three times at close range in the head and back at about 4:15 p.m. Monday. His body was found near the 8000-block of South Damen Avenue and West 80th Street in Chicago’s Gresham neighborhood. He lived in the 2000 block of West 80th Street and was on his way to his grandmother’s house when he was killed.

“At this point, we believe that Tyshawn was targeted, lured to this spot and murdered,” Police Superintendant Garry McCarthy said Thursday at a news conference.

“Tyshawn’s father has ties to a certain gang that is in conflict with another gang,” McCarthy told reporters.

McCarthy said Lee’s father, Pierre Stokes, is not cooperating with police.

Stokes told The Chicago Tribune he believed his son was targeted.

“If it wasn’t a target, he wouldn’t have got hit so many times in the back and the face,” said Stokes.

“I don’t want to harm nobody,” Stokes added. “I just want to see justice for my son by seeing the person who did it – whoever did it – locked up. That’s all I ever want.”

Police are investigating whether other shootings in the neighborhood are linked to Tyshawn’s murder.

Police questioned a person of interest who walked into the police precinct on Wednesday. The POI was interrogated for nine hours. He was released at midnight.

Tyshawn’s mother, Karla Lee, posted a video on her Facebook page. “Thanks for all your support,” Lee said. “All I can do is just pray. This sh*t hurts. It hurts. I miss my son.”

“I just want justice for my son,” she told local station ABC7. “Whoever knows anything, please let the police know. Please. He was only nine. He didn’t deserve this.”

A $35,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Lee’s killer(s).

“A baby was executed, a baby was assassinated in this alley. We have gone to a new low,” said Father Pfleger, of St. Sabina Church, during a news conference on Thursday.