Prosecutors claim that the younger victim survived by pretending to be dead and subsequently assisted police in finding the 17-year-old Chicago teenager who is suspected of killing a man and shooting a 15-year-old boy in the face. And according to officials, a fight over two guns was the catalyst for it all.
In the July 24 attack that killed 18-year-old Derrick Johnson and injured his buddy, Dariyun O. Neal is accused of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery by firing a handgun.
Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Kleist claimed in a detention petition that the victims and their acquaintance were spending the late hours of that evening at O Neal’s house. The victims remained behind after O Neal and the others left, taking two firearms with them: a 9mm and a.22-caliber handgun.
When O Neal finally came back, he saw that the guns were gone, according to Kleist. The victims were contacted by O Neal and his friends, who requested that they return the firearms. According to Kleist, the victims consented, and the six of them then took a walk together.
O Neal allegedly pulled the.22 and killed Johnson by shooting him in the back of the head as they arrived at Springfield and 73rd Street. The 15-year-old was then shot in the face by O Neal, according to Kleist.
The child collapsed on the ground and feigned death. The child got up, knocked on the door of a nearby house, and requested someone to phone 911 after O Neal and the others had left. After that, he went back to the shooting site and received treatment for a cheek graze wound.
Officers stopped an Uber carrying O Neal and two other people after receiving descriptions from the surviving victim and his buddy, according to the police. According to Kleist, officers found a 9mm handgun under the passenger seat and a.22-caliber handgun under the driver’s seat. The.22 was the murder weapon, according to preliminary test results.
O Neal was given an 18-month juvenile probationary period for aggravated battery in October 2023, according to the prosecution, but the probation was unsatisfactorily ended in April of this year.
O Neal was ordered to be held by Judge James Costello.
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