Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot went after Cook County state attorney Kim Foxx at a press conference Monday over her decision not to prosecute gang members involved in a deadly shooting last week.
“She’s got to explain to the public, why? Given that evidence, a pod camera right there that captured the entire thing and police officers on the scene in uniform, and a squad car there, why that isn’t enough?” Lightfoot said, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
“If the bad guys that are out there that are picking up guns and shooting without any regard for the sanctity of life, do not believe that there’s accountability for them, the brazenness will not end. It will escalate, it will continue and our communities will not be safe,” she continued.
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Three gang members began shooting at a home in Chicago’s West Side on Friday in an attempt to draw out members of a rival gang faction, and three people inside the home returned fire, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The firefight led to one death and two others were injured.
The shooting was captured by a city camera, and police officers in a marked squad car who arrived on the scene shortly after recovered more than 70 rounds of shells and several gun cases, according to Fox News. A SWAT team was also called after those inside the house refused to leave.
Police sought to charge all five suspects with murder and and aggravated battery, but a Chicago police spokeswoman said Sunday morning that the suspects had “been released without charges,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
A spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office explained in a statement later Sunday that prosecutors concluded “the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to approve felony charges.” She also said police officials had agreed with their decision. (RELATED: Chicago Police Chief Blames Criminals Being Released, Illegal Guns For Increasing Violent Crime)
“It’s complicated, for sure,” Lightfoot said during Monday’s press conference. “But we really urge the state’s attorney herself to get personally involved, look at the evidence, and I believe that there are charges that can be brought at a minimum against the individuals who initiated the gunfire.”
Foxx shot back at Lightfoot during a press conference Tuesday morning, calling her comments “inappropriate,” according to Fox 32 Chicago.
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“I find myself here today having to respond to a narrative given by the mayor,” the state prosecutor said. “There were statements made by the mayor yesterday regarding the evidence in this case that were simply not true. It was inappropriate. It was wrong.”
“As a former federal prosecutor, the mayor knows of the ethical obligation of the prosecutor to only bring forth charges where the facts, evidence and law support it,” she continued. “She is also fully aware that as a prosecutor we are obligated not to try cases in the media.”