Two Chicago officers fatally shot a teenager on the Southeast Side on Thursday night, after the 15-year-old fired at a man and later aimed a gun at the officers, police said.
About 9:45 p.m., two South Chicago District tactical unit officers were driving on East 87th Street when they heard a gunshot, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. They saw the teen with a handgun, heading north across 87th. The officers saw him fire at a man standing across the street.
The officers chased the teen into an alley, where they ordered him to drop the weapon, Bond said. When he turned and pointed the gun at the officers, they opened fire, striking him in the head.
Meliton Recendez, of the 2900 block of East 87th, was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
On Friday, Recendez’s family questioned the police account. His mother, Elsa Cardenas, said she thinks he was caught in the crossfire of a neighborhood gang dispute.
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mowen@tribune.com
