UPDATE: Video Of Police Shooting of 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo Released

On Thursday, April 15, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability released bodycam footage of the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. The video appears to show Adam with his hands up which contradicts earlier police reports that the teen was holding a "semi-auto pistol" which was "displayed, not used."

The officer who fired the lethal shot has been identified as Eric Stillman. Per the Invisible Institute, an organization that tracks police encounters with the public, Stillman has had seven complaints lodged against him between 2017 and the middle of 2020. The allegations include use-of-force violations in addition to improper searches of cars.

The Toledo’s family attorneys and the mayor’s office released a statement that "both parties agree that all material should be released."

ORIGINAL POST 4/5/21

A 13-year-old Illinois boy, who dreamed of going into law enforcement, is dead after a police officer fatally shot him, and the child’s family is now demanding answers.

The young victim, Adam Toledo, died on the scene, where police allegedly recovered a handgun.

According to the Chicago Police Department, at around 2:36 a.m. on March 29, police responded to the city’s West Side, where a ShotSpotter detected gunfire.

Officers “observed two males in a nearby alley,” officials said in a news release. “One armed offender fled from the officers” and “a foot pursuit ensued, which resulted in a confrontation…”

According to police, the “officer fired his weapon, striking the offender in the chest.”

Authorities have not said if Toledo fired the weapon or was holding on to it, USA Today reported.

The second suspect, Ruben Roman, 21, has been charged with resisting an officer, a misdemeanor crime.

Elizabeth Toledo said the night of the deadly shooting her teenage son had snuck out of the house.

According to ABC7, the mom insisted that police “had a lot of options, but not kill him! They could have shot at his leg, his arm, up in the air — I don't know, but not kill my baby,” she said.

“He was so full of life,” Toledo noted of the seventh-grader. “They just took it away from him.”

On a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for a memorial, the mom wrote that her son “loved to play with Lego's, saying funny jokes to make others laugh” and “brightened up the room when he would walk in.”

“Adam had many dreams that he will never get to live out,” she continued. “Ironically one of his dreams was to become a police officer. It weighs heavy on our hearts to be planning our last goodbyes instead of watching him grow up and live out those dreams.”

In a statement, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown called the officer-involved shooting of a juvenile his “greatest fear.”

“The split-second decision to use deadly force is extremely difficult for any officer, and is always a heavy burden to bear for officers involved in fatal shooting incidents,” he said, calling for the release of body-worn camera footage and supporting the investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability announced Monday that it intends to release video evidence of the shooting, contradicting the city’s long history of withholding video of fatal police shootings of minors, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“I just want justice. I just want answers … what happened?” Toledo asked. “I just want justice for my son. That’s all.”

On April 4, the victim’s family condemned alleged reports of area gang factions calling for violence against police, including shooting at unmarked squad cars, and asked the community to respect her son’s memory.

“No one has anything to gain by inciting violence,” Toledo said, according to Newswire. “Adam was a sweet and loving boy. He would not want anyone else to be injured or die in his name.”