The Daily Populous Tuesday July 15th, 2025 day edition
Authored by blockclubchicago.org and submitted by EntertainmentOdd7328

WEST HUMBOLDT PARK — The family of Nathaniel “Nate” Fejerang is calling for the prosecution of the Chicago police officer who fatally shot the teen in his head — while it remains unclear who fired an initial shot that led to police killing Fejerang.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday released footage of the May 29 West Humboldt Park shooting, leading to Fejerang’s family holding a protest Thursday where they called for justice.

Police have said Fejerang had a gun, and that a gun went off and wounded an officer as police attempted to arrest Fejerang, leading to an officer shooting Fejerang in the back of his head and neck while he was on the ground. That officer was identified in reports as officer Oscar Asilis.

But the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police shootings, has not yet said who fired that initial shot — or why police were stopping Fejerang, 19, to begin with. Video of the shooting does not clearly show who fired the shot, which rang out as officers were scrambling around and on top of Fejerang.

In response to the footage release, Fejerang’s loved ones held a peaceful and impassioned demonstration for the young man they called their “teddy bear.” Attendees marched from the corner of West Grand and North Long Avenues to the 25th Police District building, 5555 W. Grand Ave. The protest was planned in collaboration with Dare To Struggle, the Borikén Liberation Front and partner organizations.

COPA Releases Video & Other Materials From Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting Near 4300 W. North Avenue https://t.co/YeEV2GKPf4 pic.twitter.com/2uCjN3tSKY — COPA (@ChicagoCOPA) July 8, 2025

‘I Want Justice For My Baby’

Fejerang’s life was marred by tragedy.

Fejerang was born with a hole in his heart that “slowly closed over time,” said his older brother, who wore a ski mask to conceal his identity and wished to remain anonymous. And when Fejerang was 16, the West Humboldt Park native was shot in the back of his head, the bullet lodging in his brain, his family members said.

“He was not a violent kid,” Fejerang’s brother said last week. “We were scared that if he’d get into a fight and get punched in the chest, he would die because of his condition.”

“And look what happened,” he said. “Look how he died now.”

Nathaniel “Nate” Fejerang, 19, was killed near his home in the 4300 block of W. North Avenue, near Grand and Kolin. Credit: Provided/Facebook

Despite adversity, Fejerang was a playful and compassionate older brother as the third-oldest of six siblings, said Tabitha Quinones, Fejerang’s mother.

“I mean, he was a big baby,” she said. “He always played with my kids … and so now my kids are all messed up. I got an 8-year-old that doesn’t even want to go on the game no more. Nate would play with them on the headset and on the games and they’d just be talking to each other, and it’s bothering them now that he’s not here.

“I’m staying strong for my children, but I want answers. I want justice for my baby. The police took him away from me.”

Fejerang was killed in the backyard of his neighbor, Charles Cross. Cross referred to Fejerang as his “little brother” and said he had known him since he was 10 years old.

“I heard the shots, man,” Cross said. “I still can’t believe it. F— these guys. I’ve been coming to these protests ever since he died.”

At the police station at the end of Thursday’s protest, Quinones, other family members, Cross and activists confronted a line of police officers over megaphones, chanting “F— 12” and, “Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail.”

Attendees and organizers called for the prosecution of Asilis, who was assigned routine administrative duties for 30 days after the shooting.

“You’re sick!” Quinones cried, her voice straining against the wind as the first droplets of a downpour began to fall Thursday evening. “He was on the ground and you people still killed him.”

‘I Shot Him … I F—ing Had To’

On May 29, Fejerang was hanging out with friends in his neighbor’s yard in the 4300 block of West North Avenue before police approached, a family friend previously told ABC7.

According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, patrol officers made an “investigatory stop” of Fejerang about 10:35 p.m., but a reason for the stop beyond the preliminary narrative has not yet been disclosed.

When confronted, Fejerang ran from the police through a gangway and into Cross’ backyard, videos and records show.

Officers chased Fejerang, and one pushed him to the ground, video shows. Fejerang and several officers appear to struggle on the ground, with officers grabbing at Fejerang’s arms and commanding him to give them his hands and to “stop reaching.”

Amid the scuffle, Fejerang — whose pants were pulled down while on the ground — told the officers he’d been shot in his head, apparently referring to his wound from three years earlier.

A gunshot goes off, hitting an officer in his leg, and several officers swear and fall back. Asilis, who is on top of Fejerang, is seen reaching for his gun, and he fires three shots at Fejerang.

Fejerang was shot in the back of his head and neck.

“Shots fired at the police by the police,” an officer is heard saying into his radio while calling for an ambulance. “Got one offender down.”

An officer also says there is a gun on the ground near Fejerang’s body.

Police tend to the wounded officer while Asilis says they should put Fejerang — bleeding profusely from his head and laying, motionless, on the ground — in handcuffs.

Fejerang was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.

In a statement after the shooting, police said Fejerang had fired the first shot that led to Asilis shooting him. But the video does not appear to conclusively show who fired that shot, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has not yet said who fired the shot.

Police declined to answer questions late last week, referring all questions to COPA.

Family members said Fejerang’s behavior was indicative of his fear in the moment and they still don’t know why officers approached him.

Bodycam footage depicting officers restraining Nathaniel Fejerang, moments after he was shot three times by Officer Oscar Asilis. May 29, 2025. Credit: Civilian Office of Police Accountability

District Councilwoman Angelica Green (25th), who oversees civilian-police relations in the district, said that although the investigation into the shooting was still in its early stages, she believes officers should have acted differently in their handling of Fejerang and that officers require additional training into such incidents.

“There were many things here that could’ve been done differently,” Green said. “And you can hear an officer say ‘police shot by police’ in some of the videos, which adds to the confusion of everything. There’s definitely some additional training that needs to be done, at the very least, and talking to COPA to see what their findings will be, and then we’ll go from there.”

Anyone with information or video footage related to Fejerang’s killing is urged to contact the Civilian Office of Police Accountability at 312-746-3609 or by visiting their website.

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Own_Lab_3499 on July 15th, 2025 at 05:32 UTC »

A little forensics work I did using this video. Slowed it down to .25x speed. Watched between 0:32 and 0:38 seconds.

The officer that was shot is shot is shot in the left leg. His gun is holstered on the right, so it didnt go off and hit him.

At the time the shot goes off around 0:36 seconds, the female officer has a light in one hand and her other is empty. We can also see that the POV officer has empty hands. Neither is in a position where their gun could have went off in the holster and hit the officer. We can also see that the shot officer is still holstered, so he didn't draw and shoot himself.

The final male officer is to the right of the shot officer and his gun is holstered on his right, meaning it couldnt have hit the officers left leg by going off in the holster. We cant see that officers right hand, but at 0:37, I see him reach to his right side where you can see his gun holstered, at which point he draws and shoots Fejerang.

The kid fired the shot.

Damascus-Steel on July 15th, 2025 at 03:06 UTC »

Here is a collection of different body cam POVs along with case report documentation.

I’d suggest watching a few before forming a concrete opinion, though the videos are graphic.

spleeble on July 15th, 2025 at 03:06 UTC »

This seems like a good example of why body cameras are so important. I'm not sure why it took them six weeks to release the footage though.

They've now posted a bunch of different angles of body cam footage. It looks a lot like he tried to shoot cops and got killed in three attempt.

They are struggling on the ground and he has his hands under him. The cops are yelling at him to stop reaching. A shot goes off hitting the cop directly on top of him in the upper left thigh. Then another cop shoots him and kills him.

None of the angles show exactly what happened but the audio seems telling. Right before the first gunshot he says something like "shoot me n***a" and then after the first gunshot he says something like "shoot me bitch".

If it's confirmed that the first shot came from his gun then this is going to turn out to be a justifiable shooting.