9-Year-Old Chicago Boy Fatally Shot Blocks From Home

The family of 9-year-old Antonio Smith is searching for answers after the child was shot down last Wednesday, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Antonio became upset after he called his mother to ask for a snack and she told him no, according to the Sun-Times. Afterward, he left his house, followed closely by his 12-year-old brother. His brother, however, was not wearing shoes and quickly lost sight of him.

Shortly thereafter, Antonio was found in the backyard of a home in Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. He had been shot multiple times roughly two blocks from his home.

“I just want whoever did it to turn themselves in because he was a 9-year-old innocent baby and he didn’t deserve that,” Rasheda Eggleston, Antonio’s cousin, told NBC Chicago.

Antonio was found in the backyard of Cynthia Smith-Thigpen, who was not aware of the shooting until police came to her home. “It’s frightening to know that these things are happening around your house,” Smith-Thigpen told the Sun-Times.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, priest of St. Sabina Parish, says a $5,000 award will be offered in return for information about Antonio’s death. Antonio’s slaying “can’t be tolerated. Especially a 9-year-old child. It’s just ridiculous,” Pfleger said.

Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times.