In the same yard where Jose Fejerang watched his son Nathaniel play basketball for years, he watched him bleed out after being shot by Chicago police Thursday night.
Officers were on patrol in the 4300 block of West North Avenue in Humboldt Park when they tried to stop Nathaniel Fejerang around 10:40 p.m., according to Chicago police. Police referred to him as a “suspect,” but didn’t say why they were trying to stop him.
The 19-year-old fled into a backyard and a struggle ensued when officers tried to detain him. During the struggle, Fejerang’s gun went off, striking an officer and an officer returned fire, striking Fejerang, according to police.
From inside the home connected to the yard, Nathaniel Fejerang’s neighbor Charles Cross heard him yell, “I’m not resisting, I’m not resisting, I’ve been shot,” Cross told the Sun-Times.
He heard four shots.
“And then you didn’t hear his voice anymore,” Cross said.
Cross opened the door to see what was going on. He saw Nathaniel Fejerang, whom he had known for nine years, on the ground, bleeding from the head, partially clothed. Police turned and pointed their guns at him, Cross said.
“They could have shot that kid in the foot, could have shot anywhere else,” Cross said. “Nobody deserves to get shot in the face, especially not by a trained officer.”
The 19-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was stabilized but still in serious condition. He was released Friday afternoon.
Police spokespeople declined to comment beyond the department’s written statement about the shooting. The Chicago police Investigative Response Team and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability are investigating.
Police scanner traffic detailed the moments after the shooting.
“Shots fired, shots fired!” an officer screamed at a dispatcher.
“Kostner and North shots fired at police,” the dispatcher responded.
“We got one officer shot in the leg,” another officer said, adding the officer then shot the suspect. “He’s down,” the officer said.
The dispatcher called a 10-1, an emergency request for all officers in the area to help out and get to the scene.
“We’ll get EMS rolling we got two people shot,” the dispatcher said.
A gun that Nathaniel Fejerang had was recovered, the dispatcher said.
Nathaniel Fejerang had no adult arrests on his record.
John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said he watched surveillance footage that he claimed showed Fejerang “shooting backwards” at officers as he ran from them.
Police have not reported that Fejerang fired at officers during a pursuit.
“An armed offender’s an armed offender,” said Catanzara, who expects COPA will scrutinize the chase and the circumstances that led up to it.
Dad learned of son’s shooting on Citizen app
Jose Fejerang was at his home two doors down when he heard about the shooting from an alert on the Citizen app. He came outside to see his son lying in a pool of his own blood with officers around him. He said officers wouldn’t let Jose Fejerang approach his son, so he watched in horror from behind a fence.
Cross and Jose Fejerang both said officers appeared more concerned with giving aid to the officer, who was shot in the leg, instead of Nathaniel Fejerang.
CPD didn’t respond immediately to questions about officers at the scene offering aid.
Edith Altice, a neighbor, said Nathaniel Fejerang “had such a genuine spirit.” Her 19-year-old son Angel, who is autistic, played basketball with him for years in the same yard where the shooting occurred. Tearing up, she worried about how to tell Angel the news that his friend had died.
“He’s going to his girlfriend’s prom today and he’s coming to show [Nathaniel Fejerang] his outfit,” Altice said. “But he’s not gonna be here.”
Cross and Altice sat in the yard where they had crafted a makeshift memorial for Nathaniel. “Nate” was written in tealight candles and two religious candles and an empty bottle of Don Julio tequila — one of his favorites — were set out on the sidewalk.
“They just don’t know the person they took,” Altice said. “The kind of energy he had, you felt peace when he said hi to you.”
Jose Fejerang said Nathaniel was the youngest of his five kids and always kept the family laughing. He loved going out to eat and hanging out with his girlfriend, Ariana Sostre. The two frequented Dunkin’ and McDonalds, and he loved seafood, his dad said.
“He’s a good kid, gets along with a lot of people, very caring and loving,” Jose Fejerang said.
He had hopes of becoming a security guard because he “always wanted to be in a job in a uniform.” Jose Fejerang said he raised his son to stay out of trouble and work hard.
“I wanted him to have a good job and a career,” he said. “But this happened.”
Jose Fejerang said his son had been shot in the back of the head a few years ago. His family feared he wouldn’t make it through that, but he was able to recover. This time, he wasn’t as lucky.
“I don’t know for what reason they shot him up like that,” Jose Fejerang said. “I just wanna make sure this investigation comes to the bottom of this.”
When asked what he would want to tell his son if he could, Jose Fejerang’s answer was simple.
“A whole lot. I love him,” he said through tears.
