By Fox News US
A 19-year-old with a long list of juvenile offenses was charged with first-degree murder for the killing of an 11-year-old Chicago girl who was shot in the head over the weekend.
Authorities said Antwan C. Jones turned himself in to authorities late Tuesday night after police – with the help of local community members – identified him as the shooter in the killing of Takiya Holmes on Saturday.
(Learn More and Hear from CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson, courtesy of CBS Chicago and YouTube)
Authorities said Holmes was sitting in a parked car outside a dry cleaners on South King Drive around 7:40 p.m. Saturday when someone fired shots, hitting her in the back of the head. Her younger brother, her mother and her aunt were also in the car but were not hurt.
Holmes died Tuesday morning at Comer Children’s Hospital without regaining consciousness.
CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters Wednesday morning that Jones had been identified by his department as someone who was at “risk of becoming a victim or an offender of gun violence.”
He said Jones had been arrested for several offenses in the past, mostly as a juvenile.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Jones has at least three prior arrests in Cook County; most recently this past November where he was charged with two counts of domestic battery and a count of criminal damage to property.
Brendan Deenihan, Commander of Area Central Detectives, said Wednesday that the shooting occurred when Jones saw three men he believed did not belong in the area. He said the men were not injured and a stray bullet hit the young girl.
Holmes was among at least three children shot in Chicago in recent days.
Police say 2-year-old Lavontay White was fatally shot Tuesday when someone opened fire on a vehicle he was in with two adults.
(Graphic: A shooting caught on Facebook Live left a 2-year-old boy and a man dead, and a pregnant woman injured. Courtesy of Inside Edition and YouTube)
Police suspect the man in the vehicle who also died was the target of a gang hit. And authorities said Tuesday that a 12-year-old girl also shot over the weekend remains in critical condition.
On Wednesday, Johnson pleaded to local and state lawmakers to give police offices the tools to make it harder for offenders to get back on the streets.
He said there is not determent for suspects who believe they will be out of jail in a couple of months.
“I’m publically pleading that our state legislators to give us the tools to make offenders think twice about pulling the trigger. We need to create a culture of accountability,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
He added: “While no arrest will bring back the smiles or the sounds of laughter of these children, we owe it to them to help save the lives of others.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original post http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/15/man-charged-in-killing-11-year-old-chicago-girl-shot-in-head.html
*Editor’s Note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s families, the City of Chicago and the CPD.
