CHICAGO — Surveillance video from a police pod camera, obtained by WGN-TV through a source, captures the moments leading up to a shooting at Douglass Park that killed one teen and injured another on Thursday.
The footage shows a Chicago Park District lifeguard working on his bike as a group of teens approach. Suddenly, the man jumps up and opens fire on the teens.
Shortly after the shooting, the man is seen kneeling on the ground with a gun lying next to his knee.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office says 15-year-old Marjay Dotson was killed after being shot in the back during the incident.
14-year-old Jeremy Herred, a sophomore at UIC College Prep, was shot in the neck and remains hospitalized.
The Sun-Times reports that the man told police he has a concealed carry license and claims he acted in self-defense. He says the teens allegedly followed, attacked him and tried to steal his bike.
A witness told police she was standing next to the alleged gunman, who was fixing his bike, when a group, which included the two teens, approached him, according to the Sun-Times.
The witness said the man reached into his bag and grabbed his gun, then fired the weapon and struck the teens, according to the Sun-Times.
No charges have been announced. An investigation is ongoing.
At a press conference at Grace Memorial Church on Friday, the attorney for both teens firmly denied that there was any altercation or provocation involving the suspected shooter.
“No justification to shoot a child in the back anywhere. Let alone a public pool or park. We’ll get to the bottom of it,” attorney Jeff Neslund said.
Neslund says both boys were unarmed and argues that prosecutors should pursue hate crime charges against the suspected shooting. Their families echo that call.
“I need justice in this matter,” Rev. Marvin Hunter of Grace Memorial Church said.
