White Chicago Lifeguard Shoots Two Black Youths, He Thought Messed With His Bike, Killing One Of Them

A Chicago Park District lifeguard has been charged with murder and attempted murder after shooting two teenagers, including a cousin of Laquan McDonald, near the Douglass Park swimming pool on Thursday.

Charles Leto, 55, has been charged with one count each of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

The Chicago Park District has confirmed Leto is a Park District employee, and a Chicago Fire Department source has confirmed he is a lifeguard.

Police have said two teenage boys, ages 14 and 15, were in the park around 7 p.m. Thursday near the pool and basketball court in the 1500 block of South Sacramento Street, moments after the pool closed, when Leto shot them.

The 14-year-old was shot in the neck, and the 15-year-old was shot in the back, police said. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.

The 15-year-old later died. He has been identified as Marjay Dotson by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The younger boy's family has identified him as Jeremy Herred, and confirmed that he made it out of surgery, but is still fighting for his life in the intenstive care unit at Stroger Hospital. They also confirmed that he is the cousin of Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed by police in 2014.

A Chicago Fire Department source said Leto is a Chicago Park District lifeguard who was fixing a bike before he sprang up and began shooting. What caused him to shoot remains unclear.

In a statement, an attorney for the boys' families said, "There is no justification or excuse for this heinous criminal act by an employee of the Chicago Park District."

Jeff Neslund, an attorney representing both boys' families, said he spoke with witnesses who said there was an altercation after the Douglass Park pool closed Thursday night.

"The lifeguard shooter was closing up the pool. There were some boys that did not get into the pool, and they were the ones that … did something in connection to his bike," Neslund said.

Neslund said Dotson and Herred were not one of the boys who did something to Leto's bike.

"The shooter's backpack was attached to his bike somehow, and he took the backpack off his bike, turned the bike upside down, pulled out the handgun, and then everybody who was in the area just started to turn and run," he said.

Neslund said, according to witnesses, Dotson was closest to Leto when he started shooting, hitting Dotson in the back. He then turned and fired at Herred, shooting him in the neck.

He said the lifeguard claimed he was protecting himself.