A 16-year-old has been arrested and is being charged with murder in the late October shooting death of 7-year-old Akeem Briscoe, Chicago police said Tuesday.
The teen who police suspect is in part responsible for the killing was arrested Monday, Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference. The young boy had been killed by a stray bullet that came through a window at his Humboldt Park home on Oct. 26.
The boy was shot “in the bathroom, washing his hands, which should be one of the most safest places your child should be,” Brown said.
The bullet was fired during a clash between two groups in an alley near the boy’s home, CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said.
[ 7-year-old boy dies overnight after being hit by gunshot while inside Humboldt Park home ]
Police do not believe the teen, who was 15 years old at the time of the shooting, fired the gun. Instead, they suspect that he had the gun and then passed it to one of two adults who shot the bullet that killed the 7-year-old, Deenihan said. The two suspected adults are in police custody, he added.
“We have a little more work to do on this case,” he said.
The teen is being charged with first-degree murder, Brown said.
Police also announced an arrest in the Oct. 24 shooting death of a 30-year-old man outside Chicago’s Greyhound bus station.
26-year-old Rodnee Miller was arrested Monday by FBI agents in Alabama, Brown said. Authorities are awaiting pending charges for first-degree murder before he will be extradited to Chicago, Brown said.
“I hope these arrests send a very strong message that no one can hide from justice. We will find you,” Brown said. “I also hope that these arrests and these charges bring some measure, some small measure of closure to the grieving families.”
