POLICE arrested a suspect on Monday in connection with the killing of a young boy who was shot dead while playing with friends outside his home in violence-plagued Chicago at the weekend. 

The suspect, whose identity has not yet been disclosed by police, allegedly approached the house in a vehicle and fired through a side entrance at a group of men who stood near 9-year-old Janari Andre Ricks, Chicago Police Superintendent Brendan Deenihan said during a press conference on Monday.

“Unfortunately, as the bullets are flying, it's the 9-year-old who is shot and killed and then the defendant makes good his escape," Deenihan said, according to CNN.

Ricks was shot in the chest on Friday night in Cabrini-Green.

Community members provided a video and information to police that made a “speedy arrest” possible, Deenihan said. 

“This is the best example of a community coming forward and I would encourage other communities to take note,” he said. 

Chicago police are working with the state attorney’s office to file charges on the suspect within 48 hours. 

During the news conference, Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. said the alleged suspect and his target knew each other and lived in the same area with their respective families. 

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Janari was the 38th juvenile to be hit with gun violence this year, Brown said, and five of them were younger than 10 years of age. 

Brown described Janari as a “bright, beloved, athletic, soon-to-be fourth grader, who loved math and basketball was just nine years old when he was shot and killed while doing what every child in our city should be able to do without a second thought.”

July was one of Chicago’s deadliest months on record with 105 homicides, up from 44 in July of last year. 

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