The older brother of a Hyde Park Academy basketball star was held on $1 million bond Sunday in the fatal shooting of his 16-year-old brother, police said.
Charges were filed Saturday evening against Michael Whitney, 19, who was allegedly playing with a handgun and pointed it in the direction of his younger brother, fatally striking him in the head, according to Chicago Police News Affairs.
Malcolm Whitney was in the bathroom when his brother began playfully taunting him with the gun, prosecutors alleged Sunday. Malcolm Whitney tried to grab the gun away from his older brother when the gun went off.
Michael Whitney then allegedly shot through the bathroom window to make it look like an accident and moved the body to the sofa, prosecutors said.
Malcolm Whitney had four previous felonies for burglary and the Cook County Judge said the incident never would have happened if "a felon hadn't been in a house with a firearm."
An autopsy Saturday revealed Malcolm Whitney was killed by a gunshot wound to the head and was deemed a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
Malcolm Whitney was shot around 9:45 a.m. Friday in his South Side home in the 7500 block of South Kingston Avenue, officials said.
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He was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, police said.
Preliminary reports indicated the shooting may have been accidental, officials said.
The 19-year-old brother was charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony unlawful use of a weapon.
He is expected to appear in court again Monday.
According to Hyde Park Academy's head basketbal coach Antonne Samuels, Malcolm Whitney was the ideal student athlete.
"He was a great kid that did everything you asked and he did it the right way," Samuels said. "When you think of a student athlete you would think of Malcolm."
Samuels said Whitney had a 3.8 grade point average and was recently invited to attend a basketball camp at University of Southern California.
"He was a great student athlete," Samuels said.
