People in Chicago’s Little Village community came out and demanded answers Saturday in the death of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer earlier this week. NBC 5’s Vi Nguyen reports.
For the second night in a row, people in Chicago's Little Village community came out and demanded answers in the death of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer earlier this week.
Family, friends and strangers attended a prayer vigil Saturday night to remember Adam Toledo. According to family members, Adam was one of five children, a student at Gary Elementary School and had dreams of becoming a police officer.
Toledo’s grandfather told NBC 5 that he wants justice for his grandson and hopes the truth about what happened comes out.
"...We want to know how it happened and why they robbed him of his life," he said. "If the government is the one who commits this type of crime then who are we supposed to turn to complain? I want justice. That’s all I ask for.”
The shooting took place at around 2:36 a.m. Monday in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue, Chicago police said in a statement. NBC 5 has not independently verified the reports of the incident from police.
Police said officers responded to the area after an alert of multiple shots fired and saw two men standing in a nearby alley. One man then fled from officers and a confrontation ensued following a foot pursuit, officials said.
Officials said an officer shot the person, later identified as Toledo, in the chest. The 13-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
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The second person, who police identified as 21-year-old Ruben Roman Jr., was taken into custody.
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Despite earlier claims that video would not be made public due to a state law preventing video involving a juvenile from being released without a court order, Chicago's Office of Police Accountability said the law does not in fact prohibit the release of the "troubling footage" showing Toledo's fatal shooting.
COPA said it will meet with the 13-year-old's family sometime next week to review the body camera footage.
“We’re done playing all these antics with COPA and all this,” said Little Village resident Enrique Enriquez. “We want that tape played.”
It’s unclear when the video will be released to the public, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown have called for the video's release to ensure transparency and trust. COPA said city policy requires the video to be released within 60 days of the incident.
“We’re going to be out here every day until that tape is released,” Enriquez said. “The community will not stop, and the family will not stop.”
