Gangsters who fatally shot Chicago boy, 9, thought he was trying to warn rivals: cops

Gangsters who fatally shot Chicago boy, 9, thought he was trying to warn rivals: cops

Four men have been arrested and charged in the killing of 9-year-old Antonio Smith Jr. on Chicago’s South Side on Aug. 20. Police said the triggerman thought the boy was trying to warn rivals that he was stalking them when he opened fire.

BY Philip Caulfield

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Jabari Williams, 22, and Derrick Allmon, 19, are two of four gang members who are charged with killing Antonio Smith, 9, in Chicago in August. Police said Allmon shot the boy at least four times.  AP/Chicago Police Department Jabari Williams, 22, and Derrick Allmon, 19, are two of four gang members who are charged with killing Antonio Smith, 9, in Chicago in August. Police said Allmon shot the boy at least four times.

Gang members in Chicago's South Side shot a 9-year-old boy out walking in his neighborhood last month because they thought he was trying to warn rival gangbangers about their whereabouts, police said.

The four men — Jabari Williams, 22, Michael D. Baker, Paris Denard and Derrick Allmon, all 19 — were out looking to shoot rival gangsters on Aug. 20 when they encountered 9-year-old Antonio Smith Jr. in a yard near his Grand Crossing home, police said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Allmon, who was armed and stalking two rivals, thought the boy was yelling out to warn his targets when he cut down the boy in a hail of bullets and left him lying next to a concrete slab in the back of a stranger's yard on E. 71 St., police said.

Police found the third-grader's bloodied body a short time later and rushed him to a local children's hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

After a monthlong investigation, cops caught up to the killer and his accomplices last week.

Michael Baker, 19, and Paris R. Denard, 19. The four were out looking to shoot rival gang members on Aug. 20 when they encountered the third-grade boy. AP/Chicago Police Department Michael Baker, 19, and Paris R. Denard, 19. The four were out looking to shoot rival gang members on Aug. 20 when they encountered the third-grade boy.

Williams was arrested Wednesday after police spotted him carrying a weapon, the Tribune said.

During questioning, he admitted his connection to the boy's killing and later dimed-out his gangbanger buddies, who cops say are members of a local crew called the Gangster Disciples.

The others were arrested Thursday. All were ordered held without bond.

At a news conference Friday, police credited community and religious leaders with helping bring the men to justice.

Antonio Smith Jr. Neighbors called the boy 'Hamburger,' and said he was outgoing and energetic. He loved to show off his hip hop dance moves, they said. Family Photo Antonio Smith Jr. Neighbors called the boy 'Hamburger,' and said he was outgoing and energetic. He loved to show off his hip hop dance moves, they said.

Antonio was the youngest person to be killed by gun violence in Chicago this year, the Tribune said, and his death had riled locals in the gang-plagued South Side.

Community members had raised $13,500 for information leading to an arrest and had repeatedly spoken out about the senseless "execution" of the little boy they liked to call "Hamburger."

Police said the boy had no gang ties.

"Our investigators initially had very little to work with, but the nature of this murder, that a 9-year-old boy could be gunned down in cold blood, outraged the community," Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Friday, according to DNA info.

Smith's body was found in the backyard of a building on E. 71 St. near what is known as the dividing line between two gang territories in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. CBS Chicago Smith's body was found in the backyard of a building on E. 71 St. near what is known as the dividing line between two gang territories in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.

In a stomach-turning twist, McCarthy said Allmon had only recently been released from prison when he shot the boy.

The 19-year-old triggerman had served about two years of a three and a half year sentence for weapons charges.

"He should not have been on the street to commit this murder," McCarthy said, according to the Tribune.

"The real kicker to this entire case is that it didn't have to happen."

In the days after the boy's death, family members said Antonio ran out of their apartment in a tantrum after a dispute with his mother.

The boy had called his mother to ask if he could have an afternoon treat, but she said no, ticking him off, the family said.