Teen charged in fatal Near West Side shooting of 7-year-old Jai’mani Amir Rivera
Chicago’s top cop announced Friday evening that a teenager has been charged in the daytime killing of a 7-year-old boy earlier this week on the Near West Side.
The 16-year-old was charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of Jai’mani Amir Rivera around 3 p.m. Tuesday near his apartment complex in the 2300 block of West Jackson Boulevard, Police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters.
Jai’mani was leaving home when he was struck in the chest by gunfire that came from outside the complex, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Responding officers rendered aid to the boy and rushed him to Stroger Hospital in a squad car, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The teen suspect was taken into custody Thursday in the 1800 block of West Monroe Street, just blocks from the shooting scene. He was charged as a juvenile and was wanted on two warrants at the time of his arrest, police said. A detention hearing was set for Saturday.
However, Snelling cast blame on multiple shooters, saying that Jai’Mani “lost his life at the hands of violent offenders who gunned him down.”
“Jai’Mani’s life was taken from him,” Snelling said during a news conference at police headquarters. “For what? There is no excuse for this violence.”
Chief of Detectives Antionette Ursitti said 13 rifle casings were recovered at the scene. Mayor Brandon Johnson previously indicated the weapon used in the attack was illegal.
“We have had enough of this,” Johnson said at a news conference outside the hospital on Tuesday with Snelling.
"We’re not pointing a finger at anybody," Johnson added. "We all have to get to work and decide what kind of city we ultimately want to be: A city where children can get up and walk and ride their bikes and play, or a city that has allowed weapons to come into this city to terrorize us.”
Snelling said officers were canvassing the area and checking for video evidence to help identify the gunman. At a vigil Wednesday near the shooting scene on Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered to remember Jai’mani and call for action.
His aunt, Vanessa Rivera, described him as “outgoing” and said he had just gotten a jersey for the upcoming football season with the number he wanted: seven. “All I ask for is justice,” she said.
A reward for information leading to the suspect’s identification totaled at least $16,000. By Thursday, police said a person of interest was in custody without providing further details.
The fatal shooting came in the wake of a violent Father’s Day weekend that left 72 people wounded, including a 13-year-old boy who was killed in North Lawndale.
Earlier this week, Snelling said 172 juveniles had been victims of gun violence this year. Jai’Mani is the eighth child age 15 or younger to have been shot to death this year, according to Sun-Times homicide data.
“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 said at the Tuesday news conference.
A GoFundMe campaign set up by Jai’Mani's family had raised more than $28,000 of a $50,000 goal by Friday evening.