‘In daylight, near a park’: 16-year-old shot 25 times by older teen after dispute over Orbeez toy guns being used on neighborhood kid, cops say

A 19-year-old successful Illinois is facing a first-degree execution charge for gunning down a 16-year-old adjacent a playground — shooting him 25 times “in daylight” with “numerous” children adjacent — aft a kid successful the vicinity complained to the young antheral astir “older boys” taking artifact weapons from the younker and “shooting them” with the toys, cops say.

Jaquan Blalock, who was 17 astatine the clip of the May 2023 shooting, is accused of utilizing a weapon with a “switch and extended magazine” to instrumentality Antoine Shropshire’s beingness pursuing the alleged quality implicit the Orbeez guns — technically toys that sprout gel balls, though immoderate look similar existent guns — being taken, according to The Herald-News, a section quality website.

Charging documents obtained by the Herald-News person prosecutors pointing to the Orbeez fiasco arsenic what yet brought Blalock adjacent the parkland that time with his pistol, they say.

“Older boys were taking their Orbeez guns from them and shooting them with their Orbeez guns,” according to a tribunal petition filed by prosecutors connected April 14, per the Herald-News. Blalock acceptable upon Shropshire “in daylight adjacent a parkland with galore adults and children nearby,” the prosecutors said.

He allegedly changeable the teen 25 times with different individual.

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Surveillance video from adjacent shows Blalock lasting implicit Shropshire astatine 1 constituent — with the lad connected the crushed dying — earlier helium “unloaded his weapon into him,” according to prosecutors. The different fishy allegedly fired his weapon astatine others successful the area.

After being arrested, Blalock was booked astatine the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center successful Joliet, wherever helium allegedly attacked a chap prisoner.

“[Blalock] made a connection astir the incidental that it was ‘mob [expletive]’ and ‘bound to happen,’” prosecutors said.

Blalock’s attorneys person filed a question asking for pretrial release.

The Will County justice overseeing the lawsuit is expected to marque a ruling connected April 22.

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