Rapper 4 Block Lil Mari got shot by concealed carry holder during botched carjacking, officials say

A south suburban teenager who raps under the name “4 Block Lil Mari” has been jailed after prosecutors accused him of shooting a woman during a botched South Shore carjacking that ended with the victim, a concealed carry holder, shooting him as well.

Kamari Bonslater, 17, of Steger, was already on pretrial release for allegedly possessing a machine gun and a stolen vehicle at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

The charges stem from a failed carjacking on September 7 in the 6700 block of South Cregier. Chicago police initially described the incident as a drive-by shooting that left a 16-year-old boy in critical condition with three gunshot wounds and a 34-year-old woman shot twice in the leg. It now turns out that Bonslater, who has since celebrated his 17th birthday, was the critically wounded teen.

According to a detention petition, the episode did not play out the way CPD first believed.

Instead, prosecutors say, the victim, a 34-year-old woman, and a 31-year-old female companion were sitting in the victim’s parked car when “multiple individuals” approached and struck up a “brief conversation.”

Prosecutors said Bonslater tried to yank open the passenger door while pointing a gun at the women. The victim, a licensed concealed carry holder, reached for her own firearm, prompting Bonslater to shoot her in the leg before she returned fire, hitting him multiple times, according to prosecutors. She then sped away from the scene.

The victim’s companion later told police she recognized the gunman as a local rapper and provided his stage name: 4 Block Lil Mari.

Bonslater was found near the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage shows him standing by the victim’s car at the moment shots were fired and collapsing as the vehicle sped away, prosecutors said.

The video also shows several accomplices carrying him into an alley. Officials said Bonslater and at least two of those accomplices, who remain at large, fired at the fleeing car.

Bonslater, who has the word “Murda” tattooed on his neck, is charged with attempted second-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.

Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him detained pending trial.

Bonslater is the 20th person charged with killing or trying to kill someone in Chicago this year while on felony pretrial release. Those crimes involved 38 victims, nine of whom died.

The “not horrible” series

This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others on pretrial release for a felony allegation. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “We haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.

The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people awaiting trial for felony allegations is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data. You can see all of the “not horrible” stories here.