Mayor Lightfoot Wants To Know Who Gave 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo The Gun Police Say He Had, But Repercussions For Such Crimes Are Rare

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Protesters are planning a car caravan on Friday night through the Gold Coast, demanding the city release video showing the deadly police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

Police say there was an armed confrontation between officers and Adam, and now, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to know who gave the teenager a gun.

As of Thursday, it had been 10 days since Adam was shot and killed by police in Little Village - and the details remained few.

We know Chicago Police shot and killed the teen. They said he had a gun, of which they produced a photo.

Mayor Lightfoot wants to know why.

"Let's be clear," Mayor Lightfoot said. "An adult put a gun in a child's hand."

Mayor Lightfoot does not just want to know who that adult was – she made a demand Monday.

"I have directed the superintendent and the chief of detectives to use every resource to track down the origin of this gun through tracing, fingerprinting, and DNA, and any other means - and to find the person responsible for giving it to Adam," the mayor said.

But while the intention to punish is there, we found reality is very different.

"Our System is just too lax," said Tom Vanden Berk.

For Vanden Berk, the issue of gun violence is personal. He lost his son to it in the 1990s, and now he works to stop and prevent it as part of the nonprofit UCAN in North Lawndale.

"There's so many ways that youth and community folks can get guns, and get them with very little consequence," Vanden Berk said.

Under criminal offenses in Illinois statutes, you will see unlawful sale or delivery of firearms to any person under 18 years of age. But for as common as this crime is, repercussions are rare.

Our data team at CBS 2 dug into numbers from the Cook County State's Attorney's office from 2012 through 2020. In those eight years, prosecutors charged just 11 adults with giving kids under 18 a weapon.

Only six were convicted.

Saavedra: "Adults can be charged for giving kids guns."

Vanden Berk: "They can be charged."

Saavedra: "But it's so rarely happening."

Vanden Berk: "It's so rarely happening because very seldom is it ever proven or shown or demonstrated, or is there a way to do it."

Why is that? People know how kids get guns, but good luck finding someone to talk about it.

Even if someone does or the child does, legal experts said their word is extremely tough to prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

All of this makes meeting Mayor Lightfoot's demand in Adam Toledo's case seem unlikely, no matter how good the intention.

"This happens way too often in our city, and it's way past time for us to say, 'No more,'" Mayor Lightfoot said.

In:
• Little Village
• Shooting
• Chicago Police Department