Chicago father won't cooperate with police in shooting death of boy, 7

CHICAGO — A 7-year-old boy who was one of seven people shot to death in Chicago over the holiday weekend was the son of a gang leader with a lengthy arrest record, and police say the man's refusal to cooperate with detectives highlights the city's ongoing challenge to curb gang-related violence.

During the Fourth of July weekend, 48 people were wounded by gunfire in 34 incidents in Chicago. Seven homicides were reported during the same three-day period last year, and this year's total in the nation's third-largest city nearly matched the combined numbers for New York (one), Los Angeles (three) and Houston (five) — the other cities that rank in the top four in population.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has repeatedly lamented that the lack of tough gun laws in Illinois has made the streets that much more dangerous because of the quickness with which people arrested on gun charges are back on the street.

Among them, he said, is the father of the young shooting victim. McCarthy said that the bullet that struck Amari Brown in the chest “was meant for his father,” whom he described as a “ranking gang member” who had been arrested 45 times.

Antonio Brown's refusal to cooperate with the investigation is a familiar hurdle for Chicago police.

No arrest had been made in Amari's death.

Brown was arrested for gun possession in April and released on bail the next day, McCarthy said.

“If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive,” McCarthy said Sunday.

Brown's family bristled at the suggestion that Brown bore any responsibility for his son's death, as well as the contention that he was the intended victim.

“He was in the house using the washroom,” said his uncle, Carl O'Neal. “Yes, he's a former gang member. Yes, he's been arrested, but what does that have to do with a man shooting at a group of kids?”

The Rev. Ira Acree, who appeared with Brown and other family members at a news conference Sunday, questioned McCarthy's assertion that the boy would be alive if his father was in custody.

“I can understand his anger and his frustration ... but the fact is 50 people were shot over the weekend,” Acree said. “Are you going to tell me that all 50 people had a relative that caused them to be shot?”