The teenager's father says his son did not have a gun.
It happened at 44th and Princeton in the Fuller Park neighborhood, not too far from U.S. Cellular Field.
Two stories emerged on the scene. One is that Chicago police shot this teen only after the teen fired first. But the teen's father told Eyewitness News, that is not possible because his son did not own a gun, and there is no way he could have fired one if he didn't have one.
The shooting happened about 7:00 p.m. Thursday night. A spokesman with the police said officers spotted two young men in a nearby alley handing each other something. What they were handing each other remains unclear. One of those young men was taken into custody. The other one started to walk and then run through a vacant lot.
"He starts running. They chase him halfway down alley. He runs into a vacant lot at that point. He turns. He has a weapon in his hand. He fires at the police. Police returned fire. He gets hit in the leg," said Pat Camden, Fraternal Order of Police.
"No. I never heard of my son with a gun, period. I just don't understand. That's why they have been out here for almost two hours looking for a gun. There is no gun. I know he don't own a gun. (So the possibility that he pointed a gun at the officers?) He would be dead if he pointed a gun at the officers," said Lawrence Northern Sr., father. It is unclear at this hour whether or not a gun was found at the scene.
The teenager shot by police, Lawrence Northern Jr., is at Stroger Hospital. He is being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg and is listed in stable condition. His father said his son is not in high school, but does have his GED and planned on going job hunting Friday.
The scene remains under investigation by Chicago police. The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting as well.
