A suspect has been charged in connection with the shooting of a 9-year-old boy in Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood Friday night.
According to ABc7Chicago, the child was identified as Janari Andre Ricks, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Tuesday morning, police announced charges against Darrell Johnson, 39, of Chicago. Police said Johnson is the one who fired the shots that killed the boy.
Police said at around 6 p.m. in the 900-block of North Cambridge Avenue, a shooter approached the victim and several other people outside and opened fire in their direction. Police said the boy was playing in a parking lot not far from his home at the time of the shooting.
The boy was struck multiple times, including in the chest. The first responding officers performed CPR until the Chicago Fire Department arrived. The boy was then taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Johnson was taken into custody Sunday night without incident. He has been charged with one count of first degree murder and is scheduled to have a bond court hearing Tuesday afternoon.
"I want to extend my deepest, deepest condolences to Janari’s family and assure them and the entire city that bringing this little boy’s killer to justice is the top priority of the Chicago Police Department," Superintendent David Brown said at a press conference Monday morning.
Police thanked the community for assistance in identifying the suspect.
Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. of the 27th Ward said the suspect and the intended target’s families come from the neighborhood but they don’t live there anymore.
"The violence did not come from people who live in the row houses," said 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. "The violence came from people who come over to the row houses and do their dirt. We need to keep these people out of our neighborhood. We need to make sure that the good people that live in the row houses, that’s why so many people stepped up to the plate to talk about who did this because they want peace down there."
