Teen accused of fatally shooting 7-year-old boy appears in court

Andrea Medina and Gabriel Castillo

5 minutes ago

CHICAGO — A teenager charged in the fatal shooting of a child on the Near West Side made his first court appearance Saturday.

Raysean Comer, 16, who was charged as an adult, faces one count of first-degree murder and one count of personally discharging a firearm that caused the death of the victim.

The teen was ordered to remain in custody and the judge said it goes without saying that he acted recklessly when he allegedly killed 7-year-old Jai'Mani Amir Rivera.

Members of the young boy's family were in the courtroom Saturday and said the arrest brought only a fraction of justice.

“My baby didn’t get to live his life. he was supposed to be a football player,” said Jai’Mani’s aunt, Vanessa Rivera.

Family members of the victim said they were heartbroken after the tragedy.

“He was a very outgoing child. Very loving, he loved his parents to death,” Rivera said.

Rivera said the days that have passed without Jai'Mani have not been easy, but she is grateful that an arrest has been made in the case.

“God will handle it the way he wants. I believe in the Lord above,” Rivera said.

Raysean Comer, 16, is accused of fatally shooting the 7-year-old and now faces one count of first-degree murder and one count of personally discharging a firearm that caused the death of the victim.

The teen was in the Cook County criminal courtroom Saturday for a hearing.

In court, prosecutors revealed that before Jai'Mani was shot dead at the Oakley Square Apartments, where he lived with his family, he received a call from his mother to bring a pot to a neighbor .

“As the child was leaving his building, he was shot in the back. Building surveillance captured the victim returning to his building with a blood stain forming on this t-shirt,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers.

When CPD officers discovered the boy with a gunshot wound to the chest, they attempted to save his life and rushed him to the hospital, but he did not survive.

Prosecutors said witnesses spotted the teen holding a rifle and firing multiple shots toward the apartment complex. They said CPD officers later found 13 shell casings at the scene.

According to prosecutors, surveillance video and several witnesses helped identify the teenager.

In court Saturday, prosecutors described how an acquaintance of the teen was with him playing cards after the killing.

“During this card game, another person playing told the defendant that she would have nightmares about what she had done. It’s about killing people,” Rodgers said. “In response, the defendant said: 'I didn't mean to do that.'

The defense argued the teen should not be tried as an adult. They said he would start high school in the fall, get straight A's and B's and make the football team.

But in response, prosecutors said the teen had a history of escalating criminal behavior.

They revealed the 16-year-old had two separate pending cases for alleged vehicle theft and aggravated battery, which prosecutors say occurred in March.

He was placed on electronic monitoring, but prosecutors say the teen tampered with the monitor on June 7.

“These investigators tracked the device and found it cut off and laying on the railroad tracks, with the defendant nowhere in the area,” Rodgers said.

The judge said the teenager failed to comply with basic conditions of his release and put the community at risk, leading to Jai'Mani's death, adding that his actions were “reckless and the epitome of dangerousness.”

The judge then ordered the 16-year-old to remain in detention.

Family members said they won't get full justice until the person responsible serves time for the fatal shooting.

“This guy is living behind his cell, breathing and eating while my baby is buried 6 feet deep, it’s not right. Stop gun violence,” Rivera said.

Comer is due back in court on Tuesday, June 25.