A teenager has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 7-year-old Chicago boy who was not the intended target of gunfire earlier in the week, according to police.
“There is no excuse for this violence,” stated police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Friday night.
Jai’mani Amir Rivera was killed Tuesday outside an apartment building where he lived on the city’s west side. Video footage showed shots being fired from about 300 feet (91.4 meters) away, said Antoinette Ursitti, chief of detectives.
7-year-old Jai’mani Amir Rivera was gunned down in broad daylight as he left his home in Chicago by a 16-year-old criminaI who had 2 active warrants out for his arrest. The kiIIer was also reportedly out on the streets on pretrial release for a robbery case.
This is what… pic.twitter.com/QJI74PNG0X
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 23, 2024
More than 100 people gathered near the scene Wednesday night for a balloon release and to mourn the loss of Jai’mani, the eighth Chicago youth aged 15 or younger to die from gunfire in 2024, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
“All I ask for is justice,” said Jai’mani’s aunt, Vanessa Rivera.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder, with a court hearing scheduled for Saturday.
Juvenile Offender Charged with Murder of Jai'mani Amir Rivera, 7 … the offender was arrested by members of the Chicago Police Department and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on June 20, 2024, in the 1800 block of W. Monroe.
He was identified as the offender who… https://t.co/O6ZEl6zceP pic.twitter.com/yqvT8BBFH5
— SubX.News (@SubxNews) June 22, 2024
“It’s unfortunate that a mother and a father, who are doing what they are supposed to do for their 7-year-old and raising their child, that their child can’t even walk out to the sidewalk without being struck by random gunfire,” Snelling commented.
