Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday called for the release of video footage that could shed light on the police killing of a 13-year-old boy this week.
The Chicago Police Department said the boy was shot in the chest just after 2:30 a.m. Monday when officers responded to calls of shots fired. The officers saw two males in a nearby alley and one of them fled, police said.
An officer opened fire and struck the boy after a “confrontation,” police said. The department tweeted a photo of a handgun recovered from the scene.
Chicago police recovered a handgun at the scene where a 13-year-old was fatally shot by an officer on Monday. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for the release of all video footage pertaining to the incident.
(Chicago Police Department )
Lightfoot, who has a 13-year-old daughter, urged the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability to release police body camera footage to the boy’s family and then the public.
“Because his family and the public will undoubtedly have many questions, we must release any relevant videos as soon as possible,” Lightfoot said in a series of tweets. “Recognizing that these are the most complex cases that COPA investigates, transparency and speed are crucial.”
In response, COPA said it was “currently making every effort and researching all legal avenues that will allow for the public release of all video materials which capture the tragic fatal shooting” of the boy.
In a Thursday statement, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown “adamantly” called for the release of all video footage pertaining to the fatal shooting.
The Windy City’s top cop also said that his “greatest fear” 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.”
The killing came as the city is grappling with a rise in violent crime that has left scores wounded and at least four police officers shot in a two-week span.
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Most recently, a man was killed after shooting a police officer and security guard. Last week, one incident saw one person killed and seven others wounded.
As of March 28, the city reported 129 murders, up from 97 during the same time period last year, according to police data. In the same time frame, there have been 565 shootings, compared to 407 last year.