An 18-year-old unlicensed driver is accused of slamming into five Chicago police officers as they tried to break up an out-of-control after-prom gathering on the Near West Side.
Rashad Johnson, of Plainfield, was charged with first-degree attempted murder, aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and criminal damage to government property after the early Sunday crash, Chicago police said.
The officers had been working to disperse a crowd near the Brooks Homes around Roosevelt and Loomis when prosecutors said Johnson barreled into them shortly after 3:20 a.m.
The gathering was connected to an after-prom party that had spiraled into disorder, according to officials.
Johnson was allegedly behind the wheel of a blue Ford Fusion with two passengers inside when he drove westbound in an eastbound lane on South Loomis Street.
A police car tried to stop him, but prosecutors said Johnson turned south onto Loomis before driving over a curb and into officers standing in the street.
The first officer was hit and suffered injuries across his body. A second officer was struck and treated for an elbow laceration.
Prosecutors said Johnson then hit the remaining officers at the same time before crashing into a utility pole.
Two officers were treated for head injuries, while another suffered road rash.
All five officers were taken to local hospitals and later discharged in fair condition.
Police arrested Johnson at the scene. Authorities said officers also found a gun inside the car.
Johnson only had an instructor’s permit and was driving without proper adult supervision, according to prosecutors. His two passengers were 19 and 20.
Ald. Jason Ervin said the gathering was not the kind of normal “teen takeover” Chicago has experienced, but an after-prom party that devolved into chaos.
“Normally, we do not have problems in the Brooks Homes for Memorial Day, and so this caught a lot of people off-guard, what transpired last night,” Ervin commented. “Hopefully the officers recover fully and be able to get back to work.”
Residents said teenagers had flocked to the neighborhood after word spread on social media.
At Johnson’s detention hearing Tuesday, prosecutors argued that he intentionally struck the officers.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Rusch said Johnson kept driving even after hitting the first officer and argued that the illegal 30-round MAC-10 pistol allegedly found in the vehicle made him a danger to the community.
Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered Johnson detained ahead of a June 17 court date.
“I want to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially to people that are young and have no criminal history,” Srivastava stated.
“But it’s not like you didn’t know how to drive and accidentally hit the accelerator … I think you made a choice, and your choices endangered people’s lives. You have hurt a lot of people.”
The Chicago crash came as several other prom and after-prom events around the country ended in gunfire.
On Chicago’s Southwest Side, four teenagers were shot early Sunday after another after-prom party descended into pandemonium.
Police said officers were in the area around 3 a.m. when they heard gunfire nearby.
They discovered four wounded teens in the 2500 block of South Washtenaw Avenue.
The victims ranged in age from 14 to 18. Police said the group suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and grazing injuries before all four were transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Authorities said each victim was listed in good condition. They had not identified the gunman, who was gone before officers reached the scene.
In northwest Indiana, a prom after-party for Michigan City High School students turned deadly when gunfire broke out at a rented home in Pine Township.
Police said students had gathered at the Liberty Avenue home following Saturday night’s prom when gunfire was reported shortly after 11 p.m.
Three teenagers were struck by the time police responded to the scene.
Javon Townsend, 17, died after being shot three times, according to the La Porte County Coroner’s Office.
The other victims, 18-year-old Ginger White and 17-year-old Jeremiah Heard, survived.
Police have not announced any arrests. Investigators said the gunfire appears to have followed an altercation at the gathering and characterized the shooting as an isolated incident.
Townsend’s grandmother, Alesia Vinson, said his death robbed him of milestones he never got to reach.
“He’ll never have the chance to graduate, go to a senior prom,” Vinson commented to ABC7 Chicago. “It’s just so much of life he’s going to miss out on senselessly.”
White’s mother said her daughter had just arrived at the party when shots rang out.
“She heard the shots. She took off running,” Ariel White said to the outlet. “She had realized she had been hit; so she hit the ground then rolled underneath a car.”
Jeremiah Heard, 17, underwent multiple surgeries after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest, according to family members.
In Tennessee, authorities are still searching for a suspect wanted in connection with a prom-night shooting in Brownsville that left one student dead and four others seriously injured.
Haywood County Schools identified the student killed as Saturah Hayes. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office said an “innocent life was taken.”
“This is a senseless, tragic event that should never happen in any community, and especially ours,” the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities identified Dequarius “DQ” Lax as the suspect in the May 8 shooting at Webb Banks Passive Park.
Lax is wanted for first-degree murder, six counts of attempted murder and more than a dozen other charges.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Lax should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
The Marshals are offering up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is offering a separate reward of up to $2,500.
