Prosecutors say a Chicago teenager admitted to killing his 16-year-old friend in a Snapchat video taken while the teen was in the back of a police squad car.
Anthony Mendoza, 17, is charged with first-degree murder in Friday’s killing of Christian Bandemer. Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Anna Sedelmaier said during a bond hearing Sunday that the teenager posted a video to the social media app in which he admitted to the killing after he was taken into custody, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“I killed Chris and now I’m going to kill myself,” he said, according to Ms. Sedelmaier.
Police initially believed the shooting was accidental, and prosecutors said the suspect was loading and unloading the shotgun with his friend when the shooting occurred. A cousin of the victim was also present, but was not in the room when the shotgun went off, prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Mike Johnson said his client had “no animosity toward” the victim and that the shooting was an accident, according to the Tribune.
Judge Peggy Chiampas, referring the shooting as “an absolute tragedy,” declined prosecutors’ request to hold the teen without bond and instead set bond at $250,000, the newspaper reported.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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