Teen convicted in juvenile court in shooting that killed 7-year-old in Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A teen was found guilty Friday in the murder of a 7-year-old boy who was killed by a stray bullet in his Humboldt Park neighborhood home about a year and a half ago.
A Cook County Juvenile Court judge found the now-17-year-old boy guilty of the murder of Akeem Briscoe. The boy was 15 when he was arrested in the 2022 murder.
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, Akeem was washing his hands before supper in the bathroom of his family's home in the 2600 block of West Potomac Avenue when a stray bullet entered the window and killed the second grader.
The shooting was the result of a gang fight outside. A total of 19 shots were fired in all.
Akeem's mother, Deidra Misters – a nursing assistant – lay on the floor next to her son trying to stop the bleeding.
"I looked and I seen the hole in his shirt. He was shot in the stomach," Misters told CBS 2. "So I just start to hold the pressure on the wound. He didn't lose consciousness right away. He just kept trying to reassure me that he was okay. He was saying, 'I'm going to be OK, Mommy. I'm OK, Mommy.'"
Those would be the last words she would ever hear from him. He died hours later in the hospital.
Akeem's death was another in a series of killings that have made headlines in which children were the victims, and teens doing the shooting. Joseph Serrano, then 19, and the teen who was convicted Friday were charged with Akeem's shooting death. Serrano has pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, in the middle of the trial, the 17-year-old was arrested in a separate incident. This time, the teen was arrested by Chicago's vehicular hijacking team on allegations of possession of a stolen vehicle.
How could such a thing happen when he is in the middle of a trial? The answer is that the teen was not locked up in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center during the trial – he has been free.
After Akeem was struck by the stray bullet, at least 19 empty bullet casings were found next to his house. At the time, the alleged killer was only 15 – and three days shy of his 16th birthday.
If he had been 16 at the time of the shooting – he would have been tried as an adult.
After the verdict Friday, Misters told CBS 2 she was relieved – but she was also upset knowing that as a juvenile offender, the teen will be released when he turns 21.
