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18-Year-Old Charged After Car Strikes Five Chicago Officers During Large Teen Gathering

City leaders say the crash has become a focal point for debates over parental responsibility and summer safety planning

Overview

  • Police say an 18-year-old Plainfield resident drove into a group of officers who were dispersing a large teen gathering on the Near West Side early Sunday morning and was arrested at the scene.
  • Prosecutors charged Rashad Johnson with multiple felonies, including five counts of attempted first-degree murder and weapons offenses, and he is set for a detention hearing this week.
  • Officers were taken to area hospitals with injuries described as fair, and investigators recovered a firearm inside the vehicle.
  • The weekend also included separate shootings that wounded teens in Little Village and three people at a Hyde Park lakefront gathering as police detained 13 people at the Near West Side scene.
  • Chicago aldermen are drafting an ordinance to hold parents accountable for minors who join illegal takeovers while the mayor calls for parental oversight and officials expand patrols and summer safety efforts as investigations continue.