Chicago ( CNN ) -- Gun violence has inextricably joined Michelle and Barack Obama with a family from their Chicago neighborhood , and the president will give them a place of prominence during Tuesday night 's State of the Union address . Honor student Hadiya Pendleton had performed as a drum majorette at an event during President Obama 's second inauguration in Washington and was gunned down days later . The presence of her father , Nathaniel , and mother , Cleopatra , sitting by the first lady 's side , will be no coincidence and part of the president 's message to the nation . In his address , Obama will renew his support for the gun proposals he 's already endorsed , including a ban on military-style assault weapons and bolstering background checks , officials have said . Pendleton 's alleged killers -- both of them gang members -- will appear in court for the first time Tuesday morning in Chicago , police there said . One of them confessed Monday , saying he mistook Pendleton and her friends for someone else . The honor student was openly opposed to gang membership , taking to Twitter to discourage her followers from joining . She was 15 when she died after being shot in the back at a playground in late January , in Chicago 's Hyde Park neighborhood , not far from the Obama family home . The first lady attended her funeral . The president will visit Chicago Friday to talk about gun violence in the wake of 500 shooting deaths in his home town in 2012 . Pendleton was the 42nd victim shot dead in the city this year . The killing has prompted a ranking Chicago police official to call for stricter penalties against gun offenses . Michael Ward , 18 , and Kenneth Williams , 20 , were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder , Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said . Ward said he shot Pendleton , when he and Williams were out to get revenge on rival gang members , according to police . The men had fired upon Williams in July , wounding him in the arm , McCarthy said . When police arrested them , Williams refused to press charges . Instead he apparently decided to take matters into his own hands and , at best , made a serious error . `` The offenders had it all wrong , '' McCarthy said . `` They thought the group they shot into included members of a rival gang . '' Shatira Wilks , one of Hadiya 's cousins , said Hadiya was hanging out with a volleyball team -- a group of girls and one boy -- when she was killed . Williams allegedly drove getaway and waited in a car for Ward , who wielded the gun , McCarthy said . Police initially received no solid tips on the shooter 's identity , but they did get a description of the car , which they were able to link to a traffic stop days before the killing . That , along with information from parolees , led them to the two men . Ward surrendered on Saturday night without a struggle , McCarthy said , but Williams tried to escape . Wilks said the family was elated that the suspects were in jail . `` However there is no level of comfort -- not long-term comfort -- and we are still miserable , '' she said . The shooting should not have happened , McCarthy said , openly frustrated with Illinois ' gun laws . Ward was already on parole for a previous gun violation -- unlawful use of a firearm -- when he shot Pendleton , McCarthy said . He thinks he should have been behind bars and not walking around free . `` Michael Ward would not have been on the streets of New York City to commit this act , if it had happened there , '' McCarthy said . `` This is not about gun control , he said . This is about the criminal justice system being designed to prevent gun violence . '' The police superintendent called for mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes . What he wants most are controls surrounding the `` loss , theft or transfer of firearms . '' President Obama hand-wrote a note to Pendleton 's parents , when she died . It was printed on the funeral program and included a promise to take action : . `` We know that no words from us can soothe the pain , but rest assured that we are praying for you , and that we will continue to work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence . God Bless , Barack Obama . ''
Hadiya Pendleton 's parents will sit with Michelle Obama at the State of the Union Address . The teenager was killed at a playground near the Obamas ' Chicago home . Hadiya had performed at Obama 's second inauguration . A ranking Chicago police official is calling for stricter regulations on gun crime .