9 year-old boy gunned down execution style

A nine-year-old Chicago boy was executed in a back yard in broad daylight.

Antonio Smith was shot multiple times in the chest Wednesday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. outside his South Side apartment building, according to police. His killer still has not been found.

Antonio Smith, described as "outgoing, and never quiet" was pronounced dead at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Antonio’s shooting death visibly shook his new neighbors in Chicago’s Grand Crossing neighborhood.

"My little brother’s only 11," neighbor Tray Allen said. "It makes me want to get stricter and stricter and stricter on my little brother. Just because they’re out there killing people."

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Parish, urged people to gather for a prayer rally at 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of East 71st. He said the boy’s slaying "can’t be tolerated."

"Especially a 9-year-old child," he added. "It’s just ridiculous."

Rosetta Jordan, 81, who lives on the block where Antonio was found, said her 45-year-old son heard gunshots Wednesday night. He ordered his 9-year-old son to the basement before investigating. He found a "neatly dressed" boy lying in the backyard of a neighboring apartment building.

"I’m still shaking," Jordan said Wednesday evening. "It’s just so sad."

She nicknamed the boy "Marmaduke" when he was born. The moniker morphed into "Duke." Other people called him "Hamburger," she said, because "he loved hamburgers."

The family moved to the apartment in the 1100 block of 73rd in May, Murry said. But Antonio was excited to return to Hinton Elementary School, where he would soon start fourth grade. His favorite subject was reading, she said, and he "kind of liked" math and science.

But he loved telling jokes, she said. Some of them weren't even funny, Murry said. But her little boy laughed anyway.

"All he did was joke and laugh and play," his mother said.

Police admittedly have no leads. A $13,000 reward is being offered to find the boy's killer.