Two teenagers shot over the summer at the Douglass Park pool were “unarmed and never threatened,” the former Chicago Park District lifeguard charged with opening fire, according to a new lawsuit.
Former lifeguard Charles Leto, 55, is accused of fatally shooting 15-year-old Marjay Dotson and wounding 14-year-old Jeremy Herred on June 26 at the West Side pool.
“Kids [are] supposed to be able to go to the park to play,” Jeremy Herred Sr., Jeremy’s father, said at a new conference announcing the lawsuit Wednesday. “Our kids went to the park to play and got shot by an employee. It’s crazy.”
The boy’s families filed a lawsuit this week against Leto and the Chicago Park District, who they alleged hired and promoted Leto despite reports of aggressive and threatening behavior.
Leto was fixing his bike chain at the pool when a group approached and he allegedly grabbed a handgun from his backpack and fired shots, striking Marjay in the back and Jeremy in the neck, according to Chicago police and witnesses.
According to a police report, Leto claimed he was acting in self-defense, telling responding officers, “Those two kids attacked me and followed me. … I defended myself, I have a license.”
But the lawsuit claims both Jeremy and Marjay were “unarmed and never threatened,” Leto.
The boys were swimming at the pool with friends when other teenagers attempted to enter, just before closing time, according to the suit. Leto refused entry to other teenagers who then took his bike “as a prank,” and rode it to the other side of the pool, the lawsuit said. Leto didn’t call the police or park security and retrieved the bike on his own, the lawsuit said.
As Leto knelt near the bike, he pulled out a handgun and “everyone in the vicinity turned to run away,” the lawsuit said.
Marjay was struck in the back and pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital, officials said.
“What should have been a great day in the summer, fun at the pool turned into a nightmare when a Chicago Park District employee pulled out a loaded handgun and started shooting indiscriminately at the park,” said Jeff Neslund, an attorney for the boys’ families.
Jeremy, who is a cousin of Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old boy fatally shot in 2014 by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, was hit in the neck. He suffered permanent injuries and is now quadriplegic, according to the lawsuit.
Jeremy’s younger brothers have been traumatized by the shooting, Jeremy Herred Sr. said.
“My 5-year-old, he really understands what happened there. He’s just been a little different since it happened, more emotional,” he said. “My 3-year-old, he doesn’t really understand.”
Leto, a Lake View resident, faces felony charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm. A Cook County judge ordered him detained pending trial.
Leto was hired at the park district in 2023 and worked at various parks during his time there before resigning after the shooting.
The lawsuit alleged the park district breached its “duty of care” in hiring, retaining, and promoting Leto.
Months before his hiring, Leto allegedly shot two dogs, one fatally, in Lake View. The incident didn’t show up on a background check because there weren’t criminal charges, according to a review of the pool shooting released by the park district.
“We filed this lawsuit to get answers,” Neslund said. “Why was someone with a violent background, who just shot and killed dogs a few months earlier … why was this man not arrested? How did this man land a job with the Chicago Park District a few months later?”
During his time at the park district, Leto was involved in at least five altercations with patrons and fellow employees, the lawsuit alleges.
Just weeks before the shooting, a patron at another West Side pool complained to the park district that Leto displayed “unprofessional and aggressive behavior” that made him feel “threatened and unsafe,” according to the lawsuit.
Instead of disciplining Leto, the park district promoted him to “Lifeguard Captain” and transferred him to Douglass Park.
“Why, after complaints from Park District employees, coworkers and other patrons of the pool, why was this man promoted, why was he allowed to stay on as a lifeguard?” Neslund said.
The Park District issued a statement to NBC Chicago:
“The Chicago Park District has a copy of the lawsuit filed by the families of Marjay Dotson and Jeremy Herred. Now that the matter is in litigation, the Park District will review and respond to the case accordingly.”
Contributing: Candace Dane Chambers and Mary Norkol
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