Michael Whitney, a 19-year-old Phoenix Military Academy graduate, has been charged Saturday with involuntary manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon for fatally shooting his high school basketball star brother, Malcolm, in the head while playing with his father's gun. Malcolm was a standout basketball player at Hyde Park Academy.

According to the prosecutors, Whitney took the semi-automatic handgun, which belonged to his security guard father, from an unlocked drawer before approaching his 16-year-old brother who was in the bathroom. He pointed the gun at his brother and was playfully provoking him. When Malcolm tried to reach for the gun, it fired. The bullet in the gun struck him in the head.

In an attempt to hide his mistake, Whitney first fired a shot through the bathroom window and then moved his brother's body to the living room sofa.

When the police arrived at the scene, they thought Malcolm, who was lying face-down on a sofa and bleeding from the head, had died of an accidental self-inflicted gun-shot. Preliminary reports indicated that the shooting may have been accidental.

After lying about the sequence of the events several times, Whitney ultimately admitted that he was responsible for his younger brother's death. His bail amount is set at $1million

"The problem is, this tragedy would not have occurred if a convicted felon had not touched a firearm," said Adam Bourgeois Jr., Circuit Court Judge.

Whitney is a freshman at Illinois State University and has four prior felony burglary convictions.

According to a medical examiner's office, an autopsy revealed that Malcolm was killed by a gunshot wound to the head and was deemed a homicide. He was shot around 9:45 a.m. Friday, in his South Side home.

Police officials said that Malcolm was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he was declared dead about an hour later.

"He was a great kid that did everything you asked and he did it the right way," said Antonne Samuels, Hyde Park Academy's head basketball coach. "When you think of a student athlete you would think of Malcolm. He was a great student athlete."

Malcolm, who was considered to be the ideal student athlete, had a 3.8 grade point average.