A 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head while visiting a West Side convenience store when he was 8 has died, according to the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.
Marcellus "MJ" Whitehead spent months at Cincinnati Children's Hospital after the shooting on June 21, 2021. The child who once played football and idolized his older brother was left bedbound.
The coroner's office preliminarily listed the circumstances of MJ's death as "apparent homicide-delayed."
Two other children and an 18-year-old were also wounded in the shooting. A 6-year-old was shot in the legs and a 7-year-old was shot in the foot. MJ and his brother had been running to the East Westwood store to get snacks for a movie night.
After the shooting, signs reading "MJ Strong" popped
up around the neighborhood. The East Westwood community council pleaded with Cincinnati City Hall for more help stemming gun violence in the neighborhood.
Prosecutors said Darius Harris Jr., who was 19 at the time, fired the shots while targeting the 18-year-old man from Evanston.
Harris pleaded guilty to multiple counts of felonious assault and weapons charges after his case spent more than a year in court. He was sentenced to 11 to 13½ years in prison. He is currently being held at the Warren Correctional Institution in Lebanon.
Under Harris' plea agreement, prosecutors can charge him with murder if MJ's death is determined to have resulted from his injuries.
This report may be updated
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Boy shot in the head at West Side store at 8, dies 5 years later
