Mother sues for excessive force after son, 12, shot during Markham SWAT raid

MARKHAM, Ill. (WLS) -- A mother is suing two municipalities and four police officers after she said the officers used excessive force against her child when a police raid ended with her 12-year-old son being shot.

"I hear a shot," Crystal Worship, mother, recalled. "When I heard the shot, I ran."

Worship said her son was sitting on the bed with his hands up in the air when the officer shot him in the leg. She could hear her son screaming for help.

"He is so kind and sweet, so I just feel so sad that this happened to him," she said.

The raid happened in May. According to the lawsuit, SWAT officers from both the town of Country Club Hills and village of Richton Park kicked open the doors to the home. The officers, who were dressed in full SWAT gear, then threw flash grenades into the house. There are still burn marks in the home.

"We heard a bang and a boom on both sides of the doors," Worship said.

Worship's boyfriend, who was wanted on drug charges, was the target of the raid. After he was arrested, the family said a Richton Park police officer pulled out a gun and pointed it at the child. The gun's safety was not on and it fired.

"The house was secure already," Worship said. "I don't understand why his gun was off safety."

The family's lawyer said the officer was reckless and should have never been pointing the gun at an innocent child.

"There is no possible professional reason or excuse for what this cop did to Amir," said attorney Al Hofeld, Jr.

Amir was rushed to surgery, and Worship said she was not allowed to go with him to the hospital. The child is now disabled and scarred from the raid.

"According to doctors he will never be able to play sports again," Hofeld Jr. said. "He will always walk and run with a limp."

The lawsuit names the town of Country Club Hills, the village of Richton Park, and four individual officers. ABC7 Eyewitness News reached out to the police departments but received no response.

An investigation into the incident by Illinois State Police is ongoing.