Surveillance video shows Douglass Park shooting, lifeguard now charged with murder

CHICAGO (WGN) — A 55-year-old man has been charged for his role in a shooting at Douglass Park that killed one teen and injured another on Thursday, the Chicago Police Department announced.

Surveillance video from a police pod camera, obtained by WGN-TV through a source, captures the moments leading up to the shooting.

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The footage shows Charles Leto, a Chicago Park District lifeguard, working on his bike as a group of teens approach. Suddenly, he jumps up and opens fire on the teens.

Shortly after the shooting, Leto is seen kneeling on the ground with a gun lying next to his knee.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office says 15-year-old Marjay Dotson was killed after being shot in the back during the incident.

14-year-old Jeremy Herred, a sophomore at UIC College Prep, was shot in the neck and remains hospitalized.

The Sun-Times reports Leto told police he has a concealed carry license and claims he acted in self-defense. He says the teens allegedly followed, attacked him and tried to steal his bike.

A witness told police she was standing next to Leto, who was fixing his bike, when a group, which included the two teens, approached him, according to the Sun-Times.

The witness said Leto reached into his bag and grabbed his gun, then fired the weapon and struck the teens, according to the Sun-Times.

Leto has been charged with the following:

• Murder
• AttemptedMurder
• Aggravated Battery/Discharge Firearm
• Aggravated Discharge Firearm

At a press conference at Grace Memorial Church on Friday, the attorney for both teens firmly denied that there was any altercation or provocation involving Leto.

“No justification to shoot a child in the back anywhere. Let alone a public pool or park. We’ll get to the bottom of it,” attorney Jeff Neslund said.

Neslund says both boys were unarmed and argues that prosecutors should pursue hate crime charges against Leto. Their families echo that call.

“I need justice to be swift, I need it to be exact, I need it to be strong in this matter,” Rev. Marvin Hunter of Grace Memorial Church said.