A Chicago Park District lifeguard has been charged with murder and attempted murder after two teens were shot, one fatally, at Douglass Park.
Charles Leto, 55, of Lake View, faces felony charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm. He is due in court Sunday.
Marjay Dotson, 15, and his friend, Jeremy Herred, 14, were at the park about 7 p.m. Thursday when they were among a group that was standing next to Leto as he was fixing his bike. As they approached, Leto allegedly grabbed a handgun from his backpack and fired shots, striking Marjay in the back and Jeremy in the neck, according to Chicago police and witnesses.
Marjay was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital, officials said.
Jeremy, who is a cousin of Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old boy fatally shot in 2014 by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday. Doctors are concerned about brain damage, according to an attorney representing his and Marjay’s families.
According to a police report, Leto claimed he acted in self-defense, telling responding officers, “Those two kids attacked me and followed me. … I defended myself, I have a license.”
A lawyer representing Leto declined to comment Saturday. A Chicago Park District spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Charles Leto will appear in court Sunday. A parent of a child who took swimming lessons at Gill Park, where Leto worked as a lifeguard, said Leto threatened him and berated him in front of witnesses a few months ago. “The intensity was ramped up so fast, I got scared,” the father told the Sun-Times on Saturday.
Chicago Police Department
Jeff Neslund, the attorney representing the victims’ families, argued prosecutors should “look closely” at considering hate crime charges considering the alleged gunman is white and both victims are Black.
“I think you have to look at that seriously and see what his background is and motivation,” Neslund previously told the Sun-Times.
In a statement to the Sun-Times on behalf of the victims’ families, Neslund said Saturday that they are “devastated by the senseless act of gun violence” and added, “there is no justification or excuse for this heinous criminal act.”
“While no amount of justice can ever restore Marjay’s life or fully heal Jeremy’s wounds, the families take solemn relief that the justice system is now engaged with the announcement of criminal charges against the shooter,” Neslund said.
He said the families extend gratitude to the first responders, including the coaches of a youth football team practicing at the park at the time of the shooting, as well as medical care providers “and community members who have shown compassion and solidarity.”
“They ask for privacy and continued support as they navigate the loss of Marjay and focus on Jeremy’s fragile recovery,” Neslund said.
Leto was hired by the park district in June 2023 as a seasonal lifeguard at $16.19 per hour, park district records show.
The father of a 5-year-old girl who took a swim class at the park district said Saturday that an irate Leto had screamed at him at another public pool, at Gill Park, a few months ago.
The parent, Ben Reifenberg, said it was his daughter’s first day of swim class in January, and he mistakenly ended up on the pool deck while looking for his kid. Reifenberg said Leto confronted him and became increasingly angry — making a fist with his hand— after he took out his phone to contact his mother-in-law, who was with the child in the women’s locker room.
“I felt very threatened,” Reifenberg said. “I felt that I was going to get my ass kicked. I was in shock. The intensity was ramped up so fast, I got scared.”
He said another lifeguard at Gill Park pool intervened and stopped Leto from continuing to berate him. The other lifeguard, who asked not to be identified, confirmed Reifenberg’s account and said it was one of several such incidents.
The lifeguard said he was not surprised to learn about what had allegedly happened with Leto at Douglass Park.
“He was getting confrontational with staff members and patrons,” Reifenberg said. “He would flip out over the smallest stuff. This guy was always angry and aggressive when he had conflicts.”
Reifenberg drafted a complaint letter, which he shared Saturday with the Sun-Times, but said he decided not to send it to the Chicago Park District for fear of once again enraging Leto.
“I did not return to swim class from that day on, because I didn’t want to encounter the aggressive coach,” Reifenberg wrote in the draft letter. “It seemed better to just have my wife take my daughter to swim class after that.”
Kade Heather is a Sun-Times staff reporter. Dan Mihalopoulos is an investigative reporter for WBEZ.