Fatal police shooting of a 13 year old boy; Shot and killed by Chicago police
A cop in Chicago has fatally shot a 13 year old boy in an alley behind a church. The boy, Adam Toledo was a resident of a nearby house.
The boy, Adam Toledo, was shot in the chest and killed early Monday morning after authorities were alerted to possible shots fired in the Little Village neighborhood, a predominately Latino community.
According to a statement from the Chicago police department, Adam was shot in the alley following a foot pursuit. But they haven’t released the officer’s name. The boy was dead at the scene and the gun was recovered according to the police department.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police superintendent David Brown has released statements requesting the civilian Office of Police Accountability to release the body cam video. But the request was denied by the office stating that that it could not be done legally because the victim was a juvenile
Adam was the third victim shot by the Chicago police this week.
The officials further described the incident as an “armed confrontation”
The officers had responded to a shotstopper alert about 2.35am and has seen two people standing in the alley in the southwest side of the neighbourhood, mentioned in a statement.
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The statement by the superintendent of police
“My greatest fear as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department has been a deadly encounter between one of our own and a juvenile especially given the recent rise in violent crimes involving juveniles throughout our city. Unfortunately, this fear became a reality earlier this week,” he said. “Any loss of life is tragic, especially when it involves youth. On behalf of the entire Chicago Police Department, I extend my condolences to the family of the juvenile, who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police officer in the early morning hours of Monday, March 29, 2021.
“The split-second decision to use deadly force is extremely difficult for any officer, and is always a heavy burden to bear for officers involved in fatal shooting incidents. We fully support the investigation being conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), and adamantly call for the release of any and all video, including body-worn camera footage, related to the incident, as permitted by laws pertaining to juveniles,” he added.