Waukegan Police Shoot And Kill Black Teen In Chicago Suburb
A Black teenager was reportedly shot and killed by police in Waukegan, Illinois on Tuesday night (October 20), according to authorities.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, police said they had pulled over Tafara Williams and her boyfriend, Marcellis Stinnette, late Tuesday. Williams and Stinnette allegedly fled during the traffic stop. It’s not clear who was driving. Their vehicle was spotted a little later by another officer on patrol. While that officer was approaching the vehicle, it began moving in reverse, police said, and the officer opened fire. No weapon was found in the vehicle, according to reports by police.
“While officer #2 was out of his vehicle, and approaching the suspect vehicle, it began to reverse. Officer #2 fired his semi-automatic pistol, in fear for his safety,” police said in a statement.
Cliftina Johnson, Williams’ mother identified him and her daughter, who was also injured in the shooting and is hospitalized in serious condition.
“When I got there, she said, ‘Mama, they just shot us for nothing,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “My daughter said she put her hand up, and if she didn’t put her hand up, she said, ‘Mama, I would be dead.’” Williams’ mother said her daughter asked about Stinnette, but she didn’t have the heart to tell her he was dead.
On Thursday, Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper identified the man shot in Waukegan as Stinnette and said that preliminary autopsy results indicated he died from “injuries due to gunshot.”
Cooper said Stinnette’s death remains under investigation by his office and Illinois State Police.
“We have been in close contact with Mr. Stinnette’s family and our deepest condolences go out to them during this difficult time,” he said in a statement. “This is truly a tragedy.”
