Mother Of Man Shot By Police In Englewood Before Downtown Unrest Says He Had No Gun, Was Trying To Run Away
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The unrest that ravaged downtown Chicago in the early morning hours Monday started after a police-involved shooting the day before in Englewood.
CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini went inside the home where the shooting victim ran after he was hit by police gunfire.
"They shot him five times," said Latricsa Allen.
Latricsa Allen is the mother of Latrell Allen. She, along with Latrell Allen's grandparents, said they spoke on Monday with the 20-year-old, who is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds.
A police chase near 57th Street and Racine Avenue in Englewood ended with shots fired Sunday afternoon.
"He said: 'Mom, the police shot me!' I said, 'They shot you?' He said, 'Yeah, they shot me five times!'" Larticsa Allen said. "I said, 'Latrell, did you shoot them?' He said: 'No mama, I did not shoot them. I was just running.'"
Latricsa Allen said another one of her sons got into a fight with a younger male from the neighborhood at a local park. Latrell was there too, and someone flagged down police and started chasing those who ran, including Latrell.
Latricsa Allen said her son was just trying to run away and was not armed. Police say that's not true, and tweeted a picture of a gun recovered near the scene of the shooting.
Offender's firearm recovered by police after firing at Officers. Officers returned fire striking the offender. Offender transported to U of C Hospital. pic.twitter.com/UQPmfP3a35
— Tom Ahern (@TomAhernCPD) August 9, 2020
They say officers were fired upon and return fire.
Another woman, Tenisha Caldwell, claims she saw the final moments as officers opened fire. She said Latrell Allen had no gun.
"He was crying, asking the officer – he had his hand up, like, 'Why you keep shooting me?'" Caldwell said.
Somehow, Latrell Allen was able to keep running despite the bullet wounds and made it into a house. CBS 2 went inside that house and found rooms covered in blood.
According to Latrell Allen's family, police tore the house apart and opened up several walls looking for weapons.
His mom confirmed pictures posted on social media of a man holding weapons are pictures of him.
Savini: "So he's got two guns in the picture. What does the image say to the public?
Latricsa Allen: "It says terrible, be careful of him."
Savini: "And what you're telling us, that despite images like this that we see online of him, he's not that kind of guy. He's been arrested, but he's never been convicted. He was just trying to run away."
Latricsa Allen: "Yes."
Late Monday, Latrell Allen was charged with attempted murder of police officers. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said while all the information is not in, the shooting by police appeared to be justified.
But later, COPA released another statement saying anyone who may have witnessed the shooting is urged to contact them.
COPA also said the officers involved in the shooting were in a special safety team that was not wearing body cameras. But Savini canvassed the neighborhood and found several homes that had cameras that would have been pointed right at the scene.