(Chicago) A white lifeguard shot two Black teens at a West Side pool. One is dead. One is in intensive care.
Picture of Douglass Pool Supervisor Holding Back Crowd June 26, 2025. The version of the story by someone that was there. Some teenagers wanted to get in the pool and it was family swim time. The life guard explained to them that they needed an adult to swim. They left and returned with an adult, and were allowed to swim. After it was over the lifeguard allegedly locked the pool and proceeded to his bike. One of the young men decided to antagonize the lifeguard. A tug of war proceeded between the lifeguard and the young man over the bike, words were exchanged maybe even verbal assault which may have caused that child to think he needed back up. He left to go get help which his crew wasn’t far. Now two innocent children one deceased and the other is fighting for their life because of fear.. Lasandra Hines ChitownCrimechasers-CCC’s Post https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CS9sHtdZ9/
The city’s response? Obfuscation, distraction, and a propaganda blitz to protect its institutions.
At 7:03 p.m. on June 26, gunfire erupted near the Douglass Park pool and fieldhouse. Fifteen-year-old Marjay Dotson was shot in the back and died. Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Herred, a student at UIC College Prep and cousin of Laquan McDonald—the 17-year-old whose police killing in 2014 sparked national protests—was shot in the neck and remains hospitalized with possible brain damage.
The shooter is confirmed as a 55-year-old white lifeguard employed by the Chicago Park District.
A concealed carry holder and military trained, he told responding officers:
“Those two kids attacked me and followed me. I defended myself. I have a license.”
He was found kneeling beside his bicycle with a 9mm handgun on the pavement next to him. One witness confirmed the teens approached him near the bike. He reached into his bag and fired two shots.
“He was knelt down with his hand overtop of his gun. His right hand on top of his gun, his left hand on top of his backpack,” said witness Lydia Abraham. “He seemed calm. He seemed normal.”
Picture of Douglass Pool Supervisor after the shooting June 26, 2025. ChitownCrimechasers-CCC’s Post https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CS9sHtdZ9/
Sent in from a reader … “I believe last year that same man had an altercation at that same pool involved troubled youth and had to close and shut down the park early toward the end of summer due to the same acts and threats of violence towards him and his staff.”
While the lifeguard had been detained, no one has been charged.
The Manufactured Narrative
Within hours, the media-industrial complex went to work.
Block Club Chicago, which branded the shooting a racist hate crime before police confirmed the shooter’s identity, framed the story with emotional quotes, racial outrage, and a ready-made legal villain.
Attorney Jeff Neslund, who represented the McDonald family in their civil suit, is now calling for hate crime charges:
“There’s absolutely no justification ever to shoot someone in the back, let alone a child.”
Park District officials issued a bland statement.
Alderwoman Monique Scott, a former Park District employee herself, added:
“I can’t see myself waking up, taking a weapon to work, and firing at children.”
But no one has addressed the root cause: Why did a city employee feel compelled to bring a gun to work at a public pool?
If his fear was justified, this is a collapse of city safety.
If it wasn’t, then the Park District hired a man incapable of handling the job.
Either way, the system failed—again.
Employee Protection or Executable Offense?
According to Illinois law (720 ILCS 5/12-3.05), assaulting a government employee—like a lifeguard—is a felony. If the teens physically confronted the lifeguard prior to the shooting, as the suspect claims, it may form the legal basis for a self-defense case.
But if the teens were retreating or non-threatening when the shots were fired, then the lifeguard escalated a conflict into a homicide.
What is clear: city systems sent this man to supervise children—armed—without any backup, de-escalation plan, or meaningful oversight.
The Week Started with a Murder on the CTA — and Ended in Bloodshed Across Chicago’s Public Spaces
If city officials want to portray Douglass Park as an isolated tragedy, they’re ignoring the week that led up to it—and the systemwide failure that followed.
It started with a murder on the CTA.
On Wednesday, June 25, 42-year-old Jason Rowinski was stabbed to death during an argument aboard a CTA Blue Line train near Rosemont. His attacker, 66-year-old Lawrence Strother, plunged a sharp object into his thigh—likely hitting a major artery. Rowinski bled out and died. Strother was arrested hours later and charged with First Degree Murder.
That same night, less than an hour later, another mass shooting unfolded inside Ogden Park in Englewood.
At 6:52 p.m., gunfire erupted in the 6500 block of South Throop Street, near the park’s swimming pool. A 25-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman, and a 37-year-old man were all shot multiple times by an unknown assailant. Their bloodied clothes, shoes, and hats were left strewn across the pavement as first responders rushed them to the University of Chicago Hospital in serious condition.
Police recovered a black sedan, doors open, near the scene. Bullet casings littered the street. A dozen officers processed evidence while local violence interrupters from Integrity & Fidelity Peacekeepers showed up to try to prevent retaliation.
“This goes on a lot,” said outreach worker Jason Perry. “We try our best to keep it down as much as possible.”
No arrests. No press conferences. No justice.
Then, just 24 hours later, came Douglass Park, where a 55-year-old white city employee shot two unarmed Black teens—killing Marjay Dotson and critically wounding Jeremy Herred.
And hours after that, CPD fired a shot during a crowd incident in Armstrong Park in Bronzeville.
On June 26, at approximately 10:28 p.m., CPD officers approached a large, unruly gathering in Armstrong (Lillian Hardin) Park at 4400 S. St. Lawrence. When an offender pushed an officer and fled, a foot pursuit ensued. The suspect ran around a building and advanced on the officer, who discharged one round. No injuries were reported.
A suspect was arrested. The incident is under investigation.
Three parks. One train. Four days. Six people attacked with extreme violence. Two dead. No city official held accountable.
Yet the mayor shows up with talking points, and the Park District dares to claim:
“In spite of this tragic event, Douglass Park remains a safe and vibrant community anchor.”
It isn’t.
And if parks, pools, and trains are no longer safe for children, working families, or even city employees—then what is?
This wasn’t a tragic week. It was a warning shot.
And the city is still trying to spin it.
The Bottom Line
This was not a random act. It was not unforeseeable. It was not isolated.
It was the logical result of a broken city placing workers and children into chaotic, violent, under-resourced environments—and then letting them fend for themselves.
(d) A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by discharge of a firearm, he or she knows the individual battered to be any of the following:
(6) An officer or employee of the State of Illinois, a unit of local government, or a school district, while performing his or her official duties.
720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(b)
Aggravated Battery Based On Location (c) A person commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by the discharge of a firearm, he or she is or the person battered is on or about
a public way, public property, a public place of accommodation or amusement, a sports venue, a domestic violence shelter, or in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other building, structure, or place used for religious worship.
Video Credit Two Teens Shot, One Fatally at Douglass Park by Lifeguard North Lawndale, Chicago Douglass Park Jun 26 7:10:55 PM CDT https://citizen.com/-OTiiGhiIwV3hNlSStlX
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