CHICAGO — Brandon Miller, the President of the Shabbona Park Saints Football Program, made a promise to the family of Jai’Mani Amir Rivera, saying the little boy with the big curls will be the only player to wear the No. 4 for the rest of the team’s existence.
“Going forth this season, that’s going to be a number and jersey we preserve, not allow any other children to wear,” Miller told WGN News Thursday night. “This year, we’re going to create jerseys to bring to the game so that his spirit is always near us.”
Rivera was shot and killed just outside his near West Side apartment Tuesday afternoon when he was hit in the chest by a stray bullet.
At the time, Miller said he saw an alert on the Citizen’s App that a child had been killed, but it wasn’t until later that night he realized he knew who it was.
“During our board meeting, some of our members started to get notifications via phone of what happened and one of the pictures being shared had our background in it,” Miller said. “When we saw that, we looked at who it was … We all instantly remembered Jai’Mani from our camps and we were all very saddened.”
Miller said he first met Rivera this past spring at one of the Shabbona Park Saints’ free youth camps in Portage Park, where he remembered the 7-year-old who couldn’t wait to join the team.
“That’s all he talked about was football,” said Daniela, Rivera’s aunt, Wednesday. “And how he was going to tackle the boys and just run them down.”
Rivera’s mother and aunt stood with him at the Saints’ signing day earlier this year, and the two said he was all smiles, but after Tuesday’s events, that smile is gone, and a family is left to mourn their loss.
“The city continues to grieve, quite frankly,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference Thursday morning. “I’ve said this repeatedly — Families who want to make sure their child can go out and ride their bikes, play outside without fear of being harmed, that’s a real challenge we have in Chicago.”
According to an update from the Chicago Police Department Thursday evening, a person of interest is in custody for the murder of Rivera, but no other information is available at this time.
If you or someone you know is interested in helping the Rivera family pay for Jai’Mani’s funeral expenses, a GoFundMe Page has been established to help support the family.