Jai'Mani Rivera

Jai’Mani Amir Rivera was a loving and affectionate 7-year-old boy who believed he was Spider-Man in real life. His family described the White/Caucasian male as an outgoing kid who was excited to start playing football for the upcoming season. He was looking forward to entering the second grade, but his life was cut short by an act of random gun violence.

On the afternoon of June 18, 2024, Jai’Mani was at his home in the Oakley Square Apartments on Chicago’s Near West Side. Around 3 p.m., his mother called from work and asked him to take a cooking pot to a neighbor next door. As Jai’Mani stepped out of his building in the 2300 block of West Jackson Boulevard, a gunman opened fire from a distance. Jai’Mani was struck by a single rifle shot in his back. The wounded child walked back into his building’s lobby and collapsed. Responding Chicago police officers applied pressure to his wound and rushed him to Stroger Hospital in their squad car, but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the torso.

Investigators determined that Jai’Mani was not the intended target. A network of surveillance cameras, along with an anonymous tip and witness statements, helped police piece together the crime. Footage showed the shooter approaching on foot, stopping to open fire with what was believed to be an assault-style rifle, and then fleeing the scene. Police recovered 13 rifle casings, but the weapon used has not been found.

Less than 48 hours after the shooting, members of the Chicago Police Department and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested a suspect at his home. He was identified as 16-year-old Raysean Comer. Three police officers who had prior interactions with Comer recognized him from still photos taken from the surveillance footage. At the time of his arrest, Comer had two active juvenile arrest warrants and had previously cut off an electronic monitoring device he was ordered to wear for an aggravated robbery case.

Comer was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and personally discharging a firearm causing death. At a detention hearing on June 22, prosecutors detailed the evidence against him. A judge ordered Comer to be held in juvenile custody while he awaits trial. Police have not determined a motive for the shooting. "We can't give you a confirmed motive for why this happened," said Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti. "There is no justification or explanation that would make it any better, but this is the senselessness that we're talking about." The case was proceeding through the court system as of June 2024.