(Jabari Williams, 22, Derrick Allmon, 19, Michael Baker, 19 and Paris R. Denard, 19)
Four Chicago men have been officially charged in the tragic slaying of 9-year-old boy Antonio Smith, according to the Chicago Tribune. Smith died Aug. 20 after reportedly suffering six gunshot wounds in the chest, hands and arms.
The suspects charged in the murder include Derrick Allmon, 19; Michael D. Baker, 19; Paris Denard, 19; and 22-year-old Jabari Williams, DNAInfo reports. The men are alleged members of the Sircon City faction of the Gangster Disciples and were driving through rival gang territory the day of the murder.
Allmon, the alleged gunman, was ordered by Williams to shoot two rival members of the Pocket Town faction of the Gangster Disciples. But Allmon spotted Smith in a yard and shot the youth after thinking he was attempting to alert rivals of their presence.
The boy allegedly screamed “Hey!” before he was shot, the Chicago Sun Times reports. Allmon reportedly threw the .380-caliber handgun in the sewer before getting back in the getaway car driven by Baker and told him, “I just hit a shorty. I just hit a shorty,” prosecutors said.
Allmon then reportedly went to Denard’s house to change his shirt and rinse his hands in urine to clean off the gun residue.
Allmon was later arrested on an unlawful weapon charge. He later admitted to his role in Smith’s murder during questioning and guided authorities to the murder weapon.
Smith was set to enter fourth grade this school year. His death drew outrage from community residents.
“This is a baby. This is evil,” Rev. Michael Pfleger told NBC Chicago. “This is unconscionable we have allowed this in this city, in this world.”
Smith’s family is struggling to make sense of the crime.
“He was just a child, just a baby, still had a whole life ahead of him. And like, why? Just a child,” the victim’s cousin Kenya Eggleston said, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
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