Inset: Keon Harris (McHenry County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Illinois Walmart where Keon Harris allegedly attacked a 15-year-old shopper, roughly a year before cops say he threatened to kill a man and his baby while on pretrial release for the Walmart attack (Google Maps).
An 18-year-old from Illinois is facing allegations of making threats against an infant’s life through Snapchat, telling the child’s father to “imagine your son leaking” and questioning if he had ever witnessed “a baby die.” The threats were allegedly made while the teen was on pretrial release for a separate incident involving the assault of a 15-year-old at a Walmart, authorities report.
The accused, Keon Harris of Woodstock, was already dealing with felony battery charges related to a violent incident in January 2025 at a Walmart in Algonquin. During this time, he allegedly began using Snapchat to intimidate a local resident, threatening both the man and his infant son, according to court records and documents reviewed by the Illinois news outlet Shaw Local.
In the criminal complaint, it is alleged that Harris sent the father multiple videos and images of himself wielding what appeared to be an AR-15 style rifle while making these threats. “Have you ever seen a baby die,” Harris reportedly taunted. “Imagine your son leaking from his forehead.”
Records reveal that Harris was on pretrial release from county jail at the time, after being charged with aggravated battery and mob action in connection with the Walmart assault. In that case, he allegedly acted alongside another individual.
Law enforcement officials stated that Harris and Fernando Torres, a 19-year-old also from Woodstock, were involved in the attack on the 15-year-old victim. According to reports from the Lake & McHenry County Scanner, the two teens repeatedly hit the victim with their fists and continued to assault him after he fell to the ground.
Police said Harris and another teen, Fernando Torres, 19, also of Woodstock, began striking the 15-year-old victim with “multiple” closed-fist punches to the face. The local news outlet Lake & McHenry County Scanner reports that the pair also stomped on the victim after he fell to the ground.
Police said the attack left the teen with “visible bruising and discoloration,” and he was observed bleeding from his mouth and nose, per Shaw Local.
Harris was due to appear in court Thursday for a status hearing to set a trial date for the alleged Walmart incident, but the hearing was rescheduled, according to court records. He’s due to appear for the threats case on Feb. 2 after being charged with phone harassment and disorderly conduct.
Lake & McHenry reports that Harris was released once again from custody because his alleged crimes are Class B and C misdemeanors, meaning prosecutors were unable to file a petition to block his release under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, which abolished cash bail and changed pretrial release procedures in the state.
