WOODLAWN — A 16-year-old who ran away from his Minnesota home was shot and killed Tuesday after confronting the father of his roommate’s child during a domestic dispute.
Uriel Rogers-Knox, 16, was fatally shot by the father of his roommate’s child during an argument on their Woodlawn block, prosecutors said at a bond court hearing Friday.
Sir Mario Ford, 19, was charged with first-degree murder for the slaying that took place around 4:08 p.m. Tuesday in the 6200 block of South Greenwood Avenue.
Prosecutors said Rogers-Knox lived on Greenwood Avenue across the street from Ford with at least two roommates, including the mother and aunt of Ford’s child.
The child’s mother brought the baby to Ford’s house around 1 p.m. Monday, but the baby’s father wanted the child picked up soon after because the baby wouldn’t stop crying, Assistant State’s Attorney Andrea Williams said at a Friday court hearing.
When the mother went to pick up her child around 4 p.m., she got into an argument with Ford’s mother, who allegedly hit and poked her during the argument, Williams said.
Rogers-Knox later joined his roommate and her sister to confront Ford’s family, Williams said.
Ford’s sister sprayed mace at the trio before her brother came out of his home in a black puffy coat, pulled out a revolver and shot twice, hitting Rogers-Knox once in the head, Williams said.
A neighbor who witnessed the shooting said Ford also pointed the gun at his child’s aunt, who was helping Rogers-Knox after he was shot, Williams said.
Police found gunshot residue on Ford’s hands, and surveillance footage showed a person wearing a coat similar to one witnesses said Ford was wearing at the time of the shooting, Williams said.
Officers did not find a gun as they searched the Fords’ home. Ford, who attended Perspectives/IIT Math and Science Academy for high school, had never been arrested before Tuesday, his defense attorney said.
A Cook County judge ordered him held without bail.
Rogers-Knox ran away from his home in Minneapolis months ago and stayed in Chicago with adults he knew, according to the Sun-Times.
His mother, Negaya Knox, who grew up in Chicago, told the Sun-Times she traded messages with her son but he refused to tell her exactly where he was or who he was staying with.
An hour before Rogers-Knox was killed Tuesday, 15-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot as he walked home from school in Bronzeville.
A 16-year-old is charged with first-degree murder and vehicular hijacking in Brown’s killing. The teen was ordered held without bail Thursday and will be tried as an adult, while another 15-year-old who was with him is charged with felony possession of a stolen car.
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