The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old Kemonte Rice, who was suspected of raping a woman at gunpoint in 2024, according to CWB Chicago.
After Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered Rice to home confinement with an ankle monitor, he allegedly delivered a loaded revolver to his 13-year-old nephew, Tawon Tribble Jr., during the March 24 incident.
Rice, who is now in jail, allegedly directed the boy to unload and clean the ammunition of a rifle, and the boy accidentally shot himself. The suspect is accused of fleeing the property and hiding the gun at his mother’s house.
The CWB Chicago article continued:
Tawon died from a single gunshot wound to his chest. Investigators believe the gun was fired at close range, and lab analysis later found no traces of gunpowder on Rice’s hands or the clothing he wore that day, prosecutors said.
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Investigators found Rice at his mother’s home, where they took him into custody. Someone in the home allegedly told police they searched the premises for a firearm after Rice arrived, concerned he had brought a gun into the house. That individual reported finding a gun under a mattress and placing it in the freezer inside a pizza box. Another person had already removed the weapon from the freezer and subsequently surrendered it to the Chicago Police Department.
Authorities have since charged Rice with criminal child endangerment and obstruction of justice, according to Fox 32.
Prior to the charges being filed, prosecutors said Rice told officers various versions of what happened before admitting the gun went off as the youngster was playing with it. The suspect was released while the inquiry was ongoing, but a witness recorded a phone conversation in which Rice allegedly instructed the youngster to unload the gun and clean the ammunition.
“He further stated that Tawon had been posing with the gun while on the phone and that the firearm discharged when Rice tried to take it away, according to the allegations,” the CWB Chicago report added, noting he was recently re-arrested and allegedly told investigators the gun went off when he took it from his nephew’s lap.
Judge James Murphy III ordered the guy’s detention in addition to the allegations against him. In the sexual assault case, the person and a woman were having consensual intercourse when she requested him to stop, but he reportedly forced her to continue at gunpoint.
Rice is due to appear in court again on June 10, according to CBS News.
Breitbart News reports that a recent weekend in Democratic-controlled Chicago resulted in the shooting of 15 individuals, two of whom died.
