13-year-old Amari Williams was shot in the head on Sunday evening and left to die overnight before officers found him in North Lawndale on the city’s Southwest Side.
Chicago police said officers found him unresponsive on the ground with a gunshot wound to his head just after 2 a.m. Monday in the 1500 block of South Kildare Avenue.
Williams’ mother ended up reporting her son missing around the same time which led officers to go back to the area he was last seen.
Martin Williams, the victim’s cousin, stated that his cousin was last seen spending time with a group of friends. When the shooting occurred, Williams claims that all the friends left, leaving his cousin alone for hours before police discovered him.
According to ABC News, no 911 call was made, but Ald. Monique Scott (24th) said he was found in a backyard. Scott confirmed that ShotSpotter technology used to be in place in the neighborhood where the boy was found and says it could have helped police and first responders find him sooner.
“If we had ShotSpotter or some kind of tool, we could’ve known where to find this kid, and he was just left in a backyard for we don’t know how long,” Scott said.
It’s why she’s continuing her call for the city to reinstate gunshot detection technology.
So far no one is in custody.
