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Man Shot Dead By Longtime Friend While Playing Video Games, Prosecutors Say

 Richard Smith, 21, is charged with first-degree murder.
Richard Smith, 21, is charged with first-degree murder.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Englewood man has been charged with murdering his longtime friend as the pair played video games Sunday night.

Richard Smith, 21, was inside his bedroom with three friends about 6:40 p.m. when he complained that his back hurt because he slept on his gun, prosecutors said. Smith pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and removed the magazine.

It's not clear whether Smith replaced the magazine or held it in his hand, prosecutors said — but what Smith did next would ultimately send 21-year-old Otis Richmond to the morgue.

Smith pointed the gun at Richmond, who was sitting in a chair, and pulled the trigger, Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Howroyd said during a bond hearing Tuesday.

Smith "yelled out in surprise" as a bullet sliced through Richmond's abdomen, Howroyd said.

Smith and his two other friends drove Richmond to nearby St. Bernard Hospital, 326 W. 64th St., where they dropped off Richmond and left, according to prosecutors.

Hospital security contacted police, Howroyd said, and officers soon spotted Smith and his two friends heading west on 64th Street.

Police noticed blood on Smith's clothing and in the back seat of the car he had used, which was registered to Richmond, of the 5200 block of West Harrison Street, authorities said.

Richmond died at St. Bernard Hospital, and Smith's two surviving friends identified him as the shooter, according to Howroyd.

Smith, of the 6400 block of South Lowe Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder. He was ordered Tuesday held in lieu of $900,000 bail.

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