Family calls for answers after fatal shooting by Chicago police

Family members of two unarmed black residents fatally shot by Chicago police called for answers Sunday at a press conference in which they accused officers of using excessive force.

On Saturday, police officers responded to a domestic dispute after the father of Quintonio LeGrier, a 19-year-old engineering student at Northern Illinois University, said his son was threatening him with a baseball bat.

As police arrived at the home their downstairs neighbor, a 55-year-old mother of five named Bettie Jones, may have met them at the front door, according to the Chicago Tribune.

What happened next remains murky, though both Jones and LeGrier died from gunshot wounds at a local hospital within hours of when police arrived at the home, multiple news agencies reported.

“Officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer’s weapon which fatally wounded two individuals,” the police department said in a statement. “The 55 year old female victim was accidentally struck and tragically killed. The department extends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends.”

Officials have yet to identify the officers involved in the shooting.

LeGrier’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times he telephoned Jones to warn her about his son before police arrived, then said he later heard her yell  “Whoa, Whoa, Whoa,” followed by multiple rounds of gunfire.

Moments later, LeGrier said he saw his son and Jones lying in the foyer, according to the Associated Press. Both died a short while later.

“I identified myself as the father and I held my hands out,” said Antonio LeGrier, the father, to the Chicago Sun Times.

Janet Cooksey is comforted as she listens to speakers talk about the deaths of her son Quintonio LeGrier, and Bettie Jones before the start of a vigil on Saturday in Chicago. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

The shooting was the latest in a string of incidents highlighting tactics used by the country’s second largest department, now under federal investigation after the release of a 2014 police video showing an officer shooting dead another unarmed teenager, Laquan McDonald, firing 16 rounds last year.

In a news conference on Sunday, LeGrier’s mother, Janet Cooksey, said her son was shot seven times by officers, though that number could not be independently confirmed.

In an emotional address and wearing a sweatshirt that said “Rahm Killed Us,” an apparent reference to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Cooksey recalled her son’s participation in a charity marathon last year and his time time spent on the honor roll.

Cooksey, who was not present when the shooting took place, also refuted claims that her son had a history of mental illness, while also calling for answers from police.

“No mother should have to bury a child,” she said. “I used to watch the news daily and I would grieve for other mothers, other family members. Now today, I am grieving for myself. When do we get answers?”

A statement released by the department said the officers would be place on administrative duties for 30 days, the AP reported.