Amari Brown | Homicide Watch Chicago

Second alleged gang member charged with fatal shooting of 7-year-old Amari Brown last July 4 in Humboldt Park

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:22:26 -0500

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Jamal Joiner | Chicago Police

A purported gang member already awaiting trial for another murder has been charged in the deadly shooting that claimed the life of 7-year-old Amari Brown last July 4th weekend.

Amari was killed after watching fireworks with his father on the sidewalk shortly before midnight in Humboldt Park in the 1100 block of North Harding.

Jamal Joiner told someone that he and Rasheed Martin–-members of the Black Flag faction of the Four Corner Hustlers–-were aiming at a rival when a bullet pierced Amari’s chest, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jamie Santini told Judge Peggy Chiampas on Thursday.

The gang members had been feuding for several months, and had had shootouts earlier that day, as well as on April 17, 2015, and May 23, 2015, Santini said.

Joiner is currently being held without bond in Cook County Jail for a murder charge stemming from the April 17, 2015 incident.

Amari Brown | photo provided

Joiner admitted to his friend that he and Martin fired their guns on July 4th because a rival had shot at them earlier, and he knew that Amari had been hit, Santini said.

Just days after Amari was killed, Joiner was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder for the April 17 shooting that left 36-year-old Courtney Jackson dead in Humboldt Park, police said at the time.

Police said Jackson and a 35-year-old man were in a car in the 1000 block of North Springfield about 10:50 p.m. when Joiner walked up with a handgun and fired several shots in their direction before running away.

Jackson, shot in the chest, died hours later at a hospital. The other man was struck in the neck, but survived.

Martin was arrested for Amari’s murder last summer after he fled to Wisconsin. The 21-year-old is also being held without bond.

A 27-year-old woman was also shot in the chest on July 4, but survived, Santini said. A man in his 20s was also injured, prosecutors said last year.

Rasheed Martin | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.

Witnesses saw Joiner and Martin firing their weapons before running from the scene, Santini said.

After Martin was arrested, he allegedly implicated himself and Joiner.

Chiampas ordered Joiner, 21, held without bond for Amari’s murder.

In the other case Joiner is charged with, 36-year-old Courtney Jackson was shot in the head while in a car in the 1000 block of North Springfield.

Another man was also injured when, prosecutors said, Joiner walked up to them and starting shooting. That man survived.

Joiner also has convictions for robbery and drug offenses.

Man charged with shooting 7-year-old Amari Brown to appear in court Wednesday

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 10:46:15 -0500

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Rasheed Martin | Douglas County sheriff's office

The man charged with fatally shooting 7-year-old Amari Brown over the July 4th weekend has been extradited to Chicago and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Rasheed Martin, 20, was arrested at the Bartley Manor Complex at 3900 Tower Ave. in Superior, Wis., on July 22, according to a statement from the Douglas County sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s police and the U.S. Marshal Service made the arrest.

Superior is located just over the state line from Duluth, Minn., about 460 miles from Chicago.

Amari Brown

Martin is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the gang-related shooting that killed the 7-year-old and wounded a 26-year-old woman just before midnight July 4 in the 1100 block of North Harding in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has said the bullet was meant for Amari’s father Antonio Brown, whom he described as a ranking gang member with 45 previous arrests.

Martin, of the 900 block of North Monticello, has been extradited to Chicago and is scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday.

Suspect in fatal July 4 shooting of 7-year-old Amari Brown arrested in Wisconsin

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 09:26:44 -0500

A man suspected in the shooting that killed 7-year-old Amari Brown over the July 4th weekend was arrested in northwest Wisconsin on Wednesday.

Rasheed Martin | Douglas County sheriff's office

Rasheed Martin, 20, was arrested at the Bartley Manor Complex at 3900 Tower Ave. in Superior, Wis., according to a statement from the Douglas County sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s police and the U.S. Marshal Service made the arrest.

Superior is located just over the state line from Duluth, Minn., roughly 460 miles from Chicago.

Martin is wanted in connection with the gang-related shooting that killed the 7-year-old and wounded a 26-year-old woman shortly before midnight July 4 in the 1100 block of North Harding in Humboldt Park.

Martin is being held in the Douglas County Jail pending extradition to Illinois, the sheriff’s office said.

Amari had spent the holiday at home with his mom’s side of the family.

Amari Brown

Police said the boy and the woman were not the intended targets when both were shot just in the chest just before midnight. Amari, who lived in the 500 block of North Drake, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 1:56 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police said investigators believe Amari’s 26-year-old father, suspected of being a gang member, was the intended target of the shooting.

The father was standing on the front porch with Amari’s mother when they heard shots and realized the boy had been struck, police sources said, adding the father is not cooperating with detectives.

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy later said the bullet was meant for the father, Antonio Brown, whom he described as a ranking gang member with 45 previous arrests.

—Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Sun-Times Wire

'I hope we all learn from this:' Hundreds mourn slain 7-year-old Amari Brown

Jeff Mayes — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 18:26:27 -0500

Mourners pay their last respects to Amari Brown Saturday at Mount Vernon Baptist Church. | Brian Jackson / Chicago Sun-Times

By JORDYN HOLMAN
Chicago Sun-Times

Some were barely tall enough to peer inside the white casket.

Others wore green T-shirts paying homage to Amari Brown’s crime fighting, pizza-loving heroes.

A few even went a step further and wore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes to honor the 7-year-old boy who was gunned down on the 4th of July.

“I hope we all learn from this,” Amari’s principal at the Leif Ericson Elementary School told the crowd of 600 at Amari’s funeral Saturday afternoon.

Mutant Ninja Turtles leave the Amari Brown funeral, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church 2622 W. Jackson. Saturday, July 11, 2015 (Brian Jackson/For the Chicago Sun-Times)

Leavelle Abram grew emotional recalling the lively child who loved to dance the “Nae Nae” in the hallways. He said the garden at Ericson will be dedicated to Amari.

“This is the first time I’ve lost a kid in grammar school,” Abram said at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, 2622 West Jackson Boulevard.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”

Amari was watching fireworks at his father’s home in Humboldt Park last weekend when he was shot in the chest. The bullet, police said, was apparently meant for the elder Brown a purported “ranking member” of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

A message from Antonio Brown was printed inside a funeral program Saturday filled with pictures of Amari.

“Please don’t tell me you know how I feel, unless you have lost your child too,” Antonio Brown wrote. “Please don’t tell me my broken heart will heal, because that is just not true. Please don’t tell me my son is in a better place, though it is true, I want him here with me.”

As mourners wiped away tears, one of Amari’s cousins reminded them that Amari wouldn’t want anyone to be too sad.

“Tell people you love them everyday,” the cousin said.

Amari was laid to rest in a white suit and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bow tie similar to the one his father wore. Amari’s mother was wearing a TMNT T-shirt.

Balloons and wreaths shaped like the Ninja Turtles and footballs surrounded the open casket that also had a picture of the “Heroes in a Half Shell” inside. A note accompanying the spray paint art read, “We love you Amari.”

Dahlia Trusty, a cousin who often babysat Amari, said she refuses to allow him to be a statistic.

“I just wanted him to have a promising future,” she said.

“Amari loved hard…bless him, bless my cousin Amber and bless Amari’s father. I consider this as a wake up call.”

The church pastor, Johnny Miller, noted that Amari would have graduated college in 2030. “Who’s going to speak on behalf of our young brother?” Miller asked.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis D-Ill. and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk R-Ill. were also on hand to pay their respects to the slain boy.

“To the family I say hold your heads high. Be grateful for the life you have experienced,” Davis told Amari’s loved ones.

“We come to share in this tragedy with you. Our hearts are touched. We feel the pain, we feel the frustration.”

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who had criticized Amari’s father for not cooperating with police following the deadly shooting, sent a representative to read a statement.

The mayor said Amari’s life was filled with “love and purpose.”

“The loss of Amari encourages us to do better…as the city of Chicago. We will never forget Amari,” Emanuel’s statement read.

After the funeral about a hundred people remained outside the church hoping to glimpse Amari’s body.

Earlier this week, Antonio Brown made a brief appearance at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse for an unrelated gun case.

There, a judge offered her condolences and his lawyer, Donna Rotunno, blasted Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy for saying that had the elder Brown been in jail at the time of the shooting, his child would still be alive.

Rotunno maintained her client was not the intended target of the shooting but declined to specify why she believes that to be the case.

WEEK IN REVIEW: 16 people killed in Chicago violence, including 11 over holiday weekend

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 18:45:48 -0500

By JARED LANDSMAN and TRISTAN SIMS
Homicide Watch Chicago

Sixteen people were killed throughout Chicago last week, 11 of them over a violent Independence Day weekend,when the victims included a 7-year-old boy hot while watching fireworks in Humboldt Park on Saturday.

Seven-year-old Amari Brown, who lived in the 500 block of North Drake, and a 26-year-old woman were not the intended targets when they were shot while standing in the 1100 block of North Harding just before midnight.

Police said Sunday the bullet that fatally wounded the boy on the Fourth of July was meant for his father. Both Amari and the woman were shot in the chest at 11:55 p.m., police said.

The child's father, Antonio Brown, a ranking gang member who has been arrested 45 times on charges ranging from burglary to gun possession, was not cooperating with police as they tried to find his son’s killer, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Sunday.

The woman was was also taken to Stroger, where her condition stabilized.

The latest killing was Sunday afternoon involving a 48-year-old man who was shot in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Anthony Strong was shot in the right side of his chest about 4:55 p.m. in the 9200 block of South Harper, police said.

Strong, who lived in the same block he was shot, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 6:06 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Police said they were questioning a person of interest.

Earlier, two brothers from Missouri died Sunday morning after shots were fired at an SUV in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side.

John Hunter, 25, and his brother Willie Hunter, 31, were sitting inside an SUV about 6:10 a.m. in the 8800 block of South Bishop, when another male walked up and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

The SUV—driven by the younger brother—sped away, but then crashed into a building in the 1600 block of West 89th, authorities said.

John Hunter, of the 300 block of East Ashley Street in Jefferson City, Missouri, was shot multiple times. He was taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7 a.m., authorities said.

Willie Hunter, of the 1200 block of East High Street in Jefferson City, was discovered unresponsive in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. An autopsy Monday revealed he also died from gunshot wounds.

At about 5 a.m. that morning, a man was hit and killed by a minivan during an argument in North Lawndale.

27-year-old John Perry and a 23-year-old woman were involved in a verbal and physical altercation in the 1100 block of South Francisco, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

At some point, the woman got into a minivan, drove onto the sidewalk and struck the man with the vehicle before speeding off, police said.

Perry, who lives on the 400 block of West 65th Place, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An autopsy Monday found that he died of mechanical asphyxia from being hit and pinned under the vehicle, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled a homicide.

Chicago Police continue to investigate. It was not clear if anyone was in custody as of Monday afternoon.

Earlier Sunday, a man was killed in a shooting that left two others wounded in the Northwest Side Albany Park neighborhood.

Jeremy Spivey, 23, and the two others were sitting inside a van in an alley near Sunnyside and Kimball about 2:30 a.m. when a male walked up and fired shots, authorities said.

Spivey, of the 4700 block of West Belmont, was shot multiple times and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m., authorities said.

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the right leg and taken to Masonic, where his condition was stabilized. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the right finger and was being treated at Swedish Covenant Hospital, police said.

Relatives of the 17-year-old, who live near the shooting, said they spent the day barbecuing and watching fireworks for the Fourth of July. A female relative said she had heard gunshots around their home between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., then again at 10 p.m.

She took her family inside just five minutes before the shooting. She and her children said they heard about seven gunshots but didn’t think anything of it until they heard ambulances pull up.

About an hour and a half earlier, a 26-year-old man was shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood.

Dominic Fairley Jr. was sitting in his car in the 7700 block of South South Shore Drive about 1 a.m. when someone walked up and fired shots into the car, authorities said.

He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:19 a.m. He lived in the 8500 block of South Hermitage, authorities said. Police said the shooting is possibly gang-related.

17-year-old Vonzell Banks was gunned down on Friday near the recently renamed Hadiya Peddleton park, names for the King College Prep student who was slain in 2013.

Banks was shot in the back, like Peddleton. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:31 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Earlier Friday, a man was killed and a woman wounded in a South Side Washington Heights neighborhood drive-by shooting on the South Side.

The two were walking in the alley in the 9100 block of South Ashland about 1:20 a.m. when someone in a passing white van opened fire, police said.

Grover Tate, 47, of the 1500 block of West 95th Street, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The woman, 43, was shot in the abdomen and buttocks, and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where her condition had stabilized, police said.

A 26-year-old man was killed in the same block he lived in just after midnight Friday in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.

The man, identified as Jose Hernandez, was sitting on a porch at 12:05 a.m. in the 4800 block of South Justine when another male walked up and shot him in the back, authorities said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An officer at the scene said the shooting—the second on that block in about nine hours—may have stemmed from a conflict involving the La Raza street gang. Neighbors said they heard about four to six gunshots.

“We were all in the kitchen you know, having bonding, family time, and this happens,” said 15-year-old Jocelyn Avila, who lives on the block and also heard gunshots from the other shooting at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The first homicide of the weekend happened Thursday evening in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

At about 6:25 p.m., Joseph Gutierrez was riding a bicycle in the 2700 block of South Karlov when a gunman ran up and shot him repeatedly in the upper body, authorities said.

Gutierrez, of the 6200 block of South Kenneth, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said. Police said the shooting may have been gang-related.

Earlier in the week, Moses Van Pelt, 22, was shot in the Riverdale neighborhood on the Far South Side.

The shooting happened in the 13200 block of South Greenwood at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Pelt, of the 0-100 block of Olympic Village in Chicago Heights, was sitting in a parked vehicle when a gray SUV pulled up with several people inside and at least one opened fire, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 7:30 p.m., authorities said.

On Wednesday evening, a Humboldt Park man was shot and killed in a double shooting in North Lawndale, police said.

50-year-old Edgar Colon,of the 700 block of North Kedzie, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead, authorities said.

At about 9:50 p.m., Colon and another man, 38, were standing on a sidewalk in the 3600 block of West 16th Street when two gunmen walked up and opened fire, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other man took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the right leg, where his condition stabilized, police said.

Another killing was a domestic dispute involving a couple on Wednesday.

The victim, Vanessa Taylor, was found strangled in her West Garfield Park apartment after her alleged boyfriend posted on Facebook that he had killed her, police sources said.

Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene when officers were performing a well-being check in Taylor’s apartment in the 4300 block of West Flournoy Avenue, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Wednesday found she died of asphyxiation and ligature strangulation, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Late Tuesday evening, Avery Williams was shot to death in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side.

About 10:45 p.m., the 22-year-old Williams was driving in the 11100 block of South Hamlet when a black SUV pulled alongside and a gunman inside shot him the abdomen, according to police and the medical examiner office.

Williams died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. He lived in the 10400 block of South Church.

Angelica Escamilla was stabbed at about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 2100 block of West Windsor, according to police.

A man armed with a knife attacked her, police said. Two other men, ages 19 and 21, were stabbed during the fight, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police said Escamilla and two other men attacked a third man, who stabbed her in self-defense. The other two men are charged with the murder.

Escamilla, of the 4200 block of North Lincoln, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

The two men were each taken to hospitals. The 21-year-old was in fair condition, and the 19-year-old suffered non-life-threatening lacerations to his face, authorities said.

Earlier on Monday, Adrian Campos was stabbed to death in Logan Square after 3 a.m.

The 26-year-old Campos was stabbed in the chest during an argument with another man in the 1900 block of North Rockwell, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Campos, who lived on the same block where he was stabbed, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:11 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

A suspect is in custody, police said.

10 dead, 53 wounded in shootings over bloody Independence Day weekend

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 11:09:51 -0500

The Fourth of July weekend turned into an explosion of violence across Chicago, where shootings left 10 people dead — including a 7-year-old boy — and at least 53 others injured from Thursday evening to early Monday.

Seven-year-old Amari Brown was killed in a shooting that also left a 26-year-old woman wounded late Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Amari, who lived in the 500 block of North Drake, was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:56 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police said Sunday the bullet that fatally wounded 7-year-old Amari Brown on the Fourth of July was meant for his father. Both Amari and the 26-year-old woman were shot in the chest at 11:55 p.m. in the 1100 block of North Harding, police said.

The boy’s father, Antonio Brown, is a ranking gang member with 45 previous arrests and was not cooperating with police as of Sunday afternoon as they tried to find his son’s killer, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Sunday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“It’s crazy. Like who would shoot a 7-year-old? He got shot in the chest. Who would do that? To a baby?” Amari’s grandmother, 52-year-old Vida Hailey asked as she waited for news outside Stroger. “All the kids that are getting killed out here – it’s crazy. When is it going to stop?”

The woman who was shot was also taken to Stroger, where her condition stabilized.

In the most recent fatal shooting, a 48-year-old man was killed in a Sunday afternoon shooting in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Anthony Strong was shot in the right side of his chest about 4:55 p.m. in the 9200 block of South Harper, police said.

Strong, who lived in the same block he was shot, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 6:06 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said.

Police said they were questioning a person of interest.

Earlier, two brothers from Missouri died Sunday morning after shots were fired at an SUV in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side.

John Hunter, 25, and his 31-year-old brother Willie Hunter were sitting inside a Chevrolet SUV about 6:10 a.m. in the 8800 block of South Bishop, when another male walked up and opened fire, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The SUV — driven by the younger brother — sped away, but then crashed into a building in the 1600 block of West 89th, authorities said.

Willie Hunter, of the 1200 block of East High Street in Jefferson City, was discovered unresponsive in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Autopsies showed both men died from gunshot wounds.

Earlier Sunday, a man was killed in a shooting that left two others wounded in the Northwest Side Albany Park neighborhood.

Jeremy Spivey, 23, and the two others were sitting inside a van in an alley near Sunnyside and Kimball about 2:30 a.m. when a male walked up and fired shots, authorities said.

Spivey, of the 4700 block of West Belmont, was shot multiple times and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m., authorities said.

She took her family inside just five minutes before the shooting. She and her children said they heard about seven gunshots but didn’t think anything of it until they heard ambulances pull up.

A police source said all the victims are documented gang members.

About an hour and a half earlier, a 26-year-old man was shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood.

Dominic Fairley Jr. was sitting in his car in the 7700 block of South South Shore Drive about 1 a.m. when someone walked up and fired shots into the car, authorities said.

He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:19 a.m. He lived in the 8500 block of South Hermitage, authorities said.

Police said the shooting is possibly gang-related.

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death Friday afternoon in a Bronzeville neighborhood park named after slain King College Prep student Hadiya Pendleton.

The teen — identified by authorities as Vonzell Banks of the 4500 block of South Prairie — and a 19-year-old man were standing outside Hadiya Pendleton Park in the 4300 block of South King about 4:45 p.m., when a vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire, police said.

Banks, a Dunbar Vocational High School junior, was playing basketball with his older brother, Vinny, and some friends when he was shot, his aunt, LaShanda Childs, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“He was a loving child, getting ready to be a senior at high school,” Childs said. “He was going to start a summer job on Monday. He was very excited about it.”

Like Pendleton — in whose honor the park was renamed just two months ago — Banks was shot in the back. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:31 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

The man was shot in the right foot and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

Police said Banks and the 19-year-old were likely not the intended targets of the shooting.

Earlier Friday, a man was killed and a woman was wounded in a South Side Washington Heights neighborhood drive-by shooting on the South Side.

The two were walking in the alley in the 9100 block of South Ashland about 1:20 a.m. when someone in a passing white van opened fire, police said.

Grover Tate, 47, of the 1500 block of West 95th Street, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The woman, 43, was shot in the abdomen and buttocks and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where her condition had stabilized, police said.

A 26-year-old man was killed in the same block he lived in just after midnight Friday in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.

The man, identified as Jose Hernandez, was sitting on a porch at 12:05 a.m. in the 4800 block of South Justine when another male walked up and shot him in the back, authorities said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An officer at the scene said the shooting — the second on that block in about nine hours — may have stemmed from a conflict involving the La Raza street gang. Neighbors said they heard about four to six gunshots.

The weekend’s first homicide happened Thursday evening in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

About 6:25 p.m., Joseph Gutierrez was riding a bicycle in the 2700 block of South Karlov when a gunman ran up and shot him repeatedly in the upper body, authorities said.

On Saturday night, a man was shot in Streeterville shortly after the Navy Pier fireworks show.

The 19-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen at 10:06 p.m. in the 200 block of East Ohio, according to police and fire officials. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said.

A possible shooter was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered at the scene.

At least 47 others were injured in shootings dating back to 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Police superintendent: Bullet that killed Amari Brown intended for his father

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 09:31:45 -0500

By JON SEIDEL and MITCH DUDEK
Chicago Sun-Times

The bullet that fatally wounded 7-year-old Amari Brown on the Fourth of July was meant for his father, Chicago’s top cop said Sunday.

Amari Brown

Antonio Brown, a ranking gang member with 45 previous arrests, was not cooperating with police as of Sunday afternoon as they tried to find his son’s killer, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said.

And if things had gone differently after Antonio Brown’s latest brush with police—an arrest on gun and theft charges in April—his son might not have become Chicago’s latest young victim of gun violence, McCarthy said.

Rather, records show Cook County Judge James Brown set Antonio Brown’s bail at $50,000 on April 7. Antonio Brown posted $5,000, records show. And according to McCarthy, he was back on the streets “the very next day.”

“If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive,” McCarthy said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.

“Seven-year-old Amari Brown was the unintended victim of a bullet that was meant for his father,” Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says at a news conference Sunday afternoon, referring to Antonio Brown, 29. | Jon Seidel/Chicago Sun-Times

Donna Rotunno, Antonio Brown’s criminal defense attorney, said those comments are “too simplistic.” She later added that Antonio Brown “is afforded the same constitutional rights as all of us,” and 45 arrests “doesn’t mean you’re guilty.”

She said she has advised her 29-year-old client to cooperate with the police “in any way that he can.” And while she said she’s willing to join him for a conversation with investigators, she said she can’t force him to have it.

“There is still an unbelievable distrust between certain communities and the police,” Rotunno said.

If McCarthy is right, Rotunno said her client remains a target. And she said, “I’m sure there’s a level of fear associated with speaking to the police based on the fact that he is a target.”

Antonio Brown attended a vigil Sunday at the scene of the shooting in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, but he was distraught and wouldn’t speak to a reporter. His son, Amari, and a 26-year-old woman were shot while standing in the 1100 block of North Harding shortly before midnight Saturday, Chicago Police said.

They were among the victims in 62 total shootings—nine of them fatal—over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Cook County court records show Antonio Brown has been arrested several times for charges ranging from drug possession to assault. He has pleaded guilty to some drug crimes, landing a one-year prison sentence in 2012 for drug possession, records show. He is due back in court Wednesday.

McCarthy flipped through Antonio Brown’s arrest record in front of the TV cameras on Sunday, estimating it to be “probably about 22 pages long.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” McCarthy said.

The police superintendent has long complained about Illinois’ gun laws, and on Sunday he said Amari’s death “sadly underscores the problem that we deal with in this city, because it didn’t have to happen.”

But asked whether the blame falls on state lawmakers or the judge Antonio Brown faced in April, McCarthy said, “45 times—you figure it out.”

“Forty-five times we’ve put him in handcuffs, to what end? To what end?” McCarthy said. “And by the way, why do you think he’s not cooperating with us? What do you think he’s going to do about this incident?”

Rotunno said that’s not “necessarily a fair statement to make.”

Of all the crimes Antonio Brown has been arrested for, she said “none of them involve shooting anybody.”

7-year-old Amari Brown fatally shot while celebrating 4th of July in Humboldt Park

Jeff Mayes — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 11:06:03 -0500

By REEMA AMIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Seven-year-old Amari Brown spent the daytime on the Fourth of July at his Humboldt Park home with his mom’s side of the family, including his maternal grandmother, 52-year-old Vida Hailey. That would be the last time she would see him alive.

Amari Brown

Just after midnight, Hailey said the boy’s mother got a call from his dad, who was spending the evening with Amari: Their son had been shot in the chest and was at Stroger Hospital.

Hailey stood outside the hospital early Sunday as Amari’s mother sobbed into the arms of friends and family. Through her own tears, Hailey said she was praying for her grandson’s quick recovery as he underwent surgery for the wound.

Amari, who lived in the 500 block of North Drake, was later pronounced dead at Stroger at 1:56 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A 7-year-old boy was killed and a 26-year-old woman was injured in a shooting in the 1100 block of North Harding early Sunday, July 5, 2015. | Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times

Police said the boy and a 26-year-old woman were not the intended targets when they were shot while standing in the 1100 block of North Harding just before midnight. The woman was also shot in the chest and taken to Stroger, where her condition stabilized.

It’s not clear to Hailey and other relatives what happened because they weren’t with him. But a cousin of Amari’s, who didn’t want to be named, said he and others had just returned to a relative’s house on Harding when the shooting happened. He was inside a house as Amari played outside.

Police said investigators believe Amari’s 26-year-old father, suspected of being a gang member, was the intended target of the shooting.

The father was standing on the front porch with Amari’s mother when they heard shots and realized the boy had been struck, police sources said, adding that the father is not cooperating with detectives.

Earlier in the day, Amari was riding his scooter up and down on the block where he lived with Hailey and several other relatives in Humboldt Park, Hailey said.

“Just a regular barbecue, having fun, eating,” Hailey said. “[Amari] was playing up and down the street, riding the scooter.”

Amari, who has multiple siblings, was set to start second grade at Leif Ericson Elementary School, relatives said.

He was a “goofy” child with a big imagination, according to his second cousin, 18-year-old Diamond Trusty. She’s one of many relatives who lived with Amari.

The Ninja Turtles fan loved playing sports, watching movies and performing plays he’d make up, Trusty said. He was “the best dancer,” Trusty said, especially when he showed off his moves to the DLow Shuffle and the Nae Nae.

Even though he was 7 and has an even younger brother, Hailey said Amari was still considered the family’s baby.

“It’s crazy. Like who would shoot a 7-year-old? He got shot in the chest. Who would do that? To a baby?” Hailey asked. “All the kids that are getting killed out here – it’s crazy. When is it going to stop?”