CHICAGO (AP) – Hundreds of people have turned out to mourn a 7-year-old victim of Chicago gun violence who loved dancing and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Police say Amari Brown was celebrating July 4 at his father’s home on Chicago’s West Side when someone opened fire.
Police Chief Garry McCarthy says the shot that killed the boy was intended for his father, a “ranking gang member.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reports some of the mourners who attended Brown’s funeral Saturday were barely tall enough to peer inside his casket. Some wore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirts or costumes.
Dahlia Trusty is a cousin who often babysat for Brown. She says: “I just wanted him to have a promising future.”
Forty-eight people were hurt by gunfire in Chicago over the holiday weekend. Seven died.