Nine-year-old Jarvis Watts was fatally shot on January 1, 2023, during a New Year’s Day gathering at a relative’s home in the 9400 block of South Wallace Street in the Washington Heights or Brainerd area of Chicago. The Cook County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, listing multiple gunshot wounds to the face, neck, and hand. The shooting occurred around 6:30 p.m. while several adults and children, including Jarvis’s siblings, were in the house.

Witness accounts differ about what happened. A child witness reportedly said Jarvis pointed a gun at his head and accidentally shot himself, while other adults described hearing a loud pop and screams as Jarvis came down the stairs and collapsed. Police found a spent .45-caliber shell casing and an unused .40-caliber casing but did not recover the firearm; several people who had been at the home, including a 27-year-old man, left before officers arrived and have been questioned. No arrests have been announced. Community members have offered to pay for the funeral and are offering a reward for information.

If anyone was at that house on January 1 or knows who had access to a handgun there that evening, please come forward with information.