Investigators are still searching for the weapon a Chicago police officer said a 19-year-old man pointed at him during a foot chase before he fatally shot the teen, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Thursday.
“We conducted and completed a grid search during the overnight hours for ballistic evidence and the offender’s weapon and we were not able to locate a weapon as of yet,” Johnson said during a Thanksgiving press conference.
Police said officers were responding to a report of a “battery in progress” in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood around 11 p.m. Wednesday. When a sergeant arrived at the scene and identified himself as a police officer, he claims 19-year-old Kajuan Raye fled.
During the chase, the sergeant claims Raye twice pointed a gun at him, prompting the officer to shoot the teen.
Raye suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
But Johnson said details surrounding what led to the shooting remain unclear.
“There are still many unanswered questions and we are working diligently to find those answers,” he said.
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Raye’s family said the teen was running because he was scared.
“He is a young black male and they are afraid of the police,” said Ahkeya White, Raye’s cousin. “They do not believe the police are there to protect and serve.”
The family acknowledged Raye had challenges in the past, including a criminal trespass charge, but say the teen was trying to get back on track.
“They can search all night, there is no gun involved,” White said. “The only gun that was there, the only gun that was fired, was from the Chicago Police Department.”
“Every situation they are criminal, they have a gun, they said he had a gun,” Jamal Green with Black Lives Matter said Thursday. “Yet, they can’t recover a gun.”
The sergeant, who was not injured during the incident, will be placed on routine desk duty for 30 days following the shooting.
A spokeswoman for the Independent Police Review Authority could not be reached for more details.
Johnson said detectives are collecting evidence from surveillance cameras in the area as the investigation remained ongoing. The family says they have hired a lawyer.
“You will have to answer for what you’ve done,” White said.
