7-year-old boy fatally shot outside his Near West Side home

Jaimani Amir Rivera was stepping outside his Near West Side home to visit a neighbor when he was hit by a stray bullet Tuesday afternoon.

Jaimani, 7, had just reached the sidewalk in front of the building when shots were fired from outside the gates of the apartment complex in the 2300 block of West Jackson Boulevard about 3 p.m.

Officers responded to the call and found him on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest. They applied pressure to the wound and loaded him into the back of their squad car, Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling said at a news conference.

The officers took Jaimani to Stroger Hospital, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

Snelling said the shooting did not appear to be targeted. He said officers were canvasing the area and were looking for any video evidence that could help identify the shooter.

"We will not rest until we bring some justice to this case," Snelling said. "Life was snuffed out before he even had the opportunity to live it the way it needed to be lived."

Residents at the complex said they've noticed an increase in shootings in the area. They said they believe the gunfire is gang-related and are hesitant to leave their homes for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

"Whoever did the shooting, they just took somebody’s child," said resident Ethiopia Jackson. "A 7-year-old who didn’t have anything to do with whatever is going on over here. We don’t have anything to do with it, so why come shoot innocent people? It’s crazy."

Snelling said the department has increased police patrols in the area where the shooting occurred, but even though arrests have been made, the same offenders are being sent back to the streets.

"When we arrest people for violent crimes, we have to prosecute them," Snelling said. "We have to keep them off the street. We cannot allow repeat offenders to go back out in the street. This is not only frustrating for the Chicago Police Department. ... It's frustrating to members of our community. These are great people living in these communities, and a lot of them are prisoners in their own homes."

"It's unfortunate that a mother and a father, who are doing what they are supposed to do for their 7-year-old and raising their child, that their child can't even walk out to the sidewalk without being struck by random gunfire."

Sources tell the Sun-Times that an assault-style rifle may have been used in the attack. At least 11 shell casings were found at the scene, an officer reported.

Mayor Brandon Johnson mentioned at a press conference that the weapon used in the shooting was illegal.

“We have had enough of this,” Johnson said. “We’ve had enough. We’re not pointing a finger at anybody, we all have to get to work and decide what kind of city we ultimately want to be: A city where children can get up and walk and ride their bikes and play, or a city that has allowed weapons to come into this city to terrorize us.”

“My condolences to the mother and father and to those who love this baby. The grief in this city has become increasingly more unbearable. This is no longer about tragedy. It’s about course-correcting ways of life of some individuals in this city who have caused terror, trauma and torment."

No one was reported in custody.

Snelling said so far this year, 172 juveniles have been victims of gun violence in Chicago.

The shooting follows a violent Father’s Day weekend, where 72 people were wounded by gunfire. Two mass shootings occurred within an hour of each other shortly after 12:01 a.m. Monday, wounding seven in Englewood and five in Humboldt Park, including a 15-year-old girl.

Three weeks ago, 5-year-old Reign Ware was fatally shot a block away from Tuesday's shooting as she left a party with her father in the 200 block of South Campbell Avenue. Reign was sitting in a car when someone in a black Jeep Cherokee pulled up and opened fire.