WBRZ - Baton Rouge

CHICAGO - Chicago police say two men accused of killing a 15-year-old honor student mistook her and her friends for rival gang members who'd shot one of the men over the summer.

Authorities filed murder charges Monday against 18-year-old Michael Ward and 20-year-old Kenneth Williams.

Both are accused in the Jan. 29 death of Hadiya Pendleton. She and her friends were shot at in a park near President Obama's home in Chicago.

Pendleton had performed days earlier in the inauguration ceremonies in Washington.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says Ward told investigators the shooting was meant as retaliation for Williams being shot in the arm in July.

McCarthy says the men were arrested while driving to a strip club Saturday, hours after Pendleton's funeral.