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Lifeguard Charged With Murder After Douglass Park Shooting

Families demand a hate crime probe as the accused lifeguard prepares for a detention hearing

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Overview

  • Prosecutors charged 55-year-old lifeguard Charles Leto with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm involving an occupied vehicle.
  • Authorities say Leto opened fire outside the Douglass Park pool on June 26, killing 15-year-old Marjay Dotson and seriously wounding 14-year-old Jeremy Herred.
  • Herred, a cousin of Laquan McDonald, remains hospitalized in serious condition at Stroger Hospital.
  • Police pod camera footage obtained by WGN-TV shows the lifeguard fixing his bicycle moments before he suddenly fired at the teens without any visible provocation.
  • The Chicago Park District closed the pool and is cooperating with investigators in an internal review as community leaders call for a hate crime investigation.