Mom And Son Will No Longer Face Murder Charges For Deadly Chicago Shooting

On Father’s Day, June 18, an altercation in Chicago turned fatal when a mother reportedly enlisted her 14-year-old son to shoot a man she was arguing and fighting with at a restaurant. They were both charged with first-degree murder until the State Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges based on facts and additional evidence.

According to NBC News, 35-year-old Carlishia Hood waited in line for food at a Maxwell Street Express at 11656 S. Halsted Street while her son sat in their blue Lincoln Nautilus. Cook County prosecutors identified Jeremy Brown, 32, as the man who was also in the establishment and had words with Hood.

A circulating clip posted via Instagram showed Brown, in a white t-shirt and jeans, yelling at Hood at the counter. “Lady, get your food!” Brown demanded, adding, “Say one more thing; I’m going to knock you out!”

Brown’s girlfriend allegedly laughed and provoked his behavior, per the news outlet. Surveillance cameras captured Hood in a striped maxi dress and a head wrap. After the incident went from words to blows, Hood suffered punches to her head and sent a text message to her son to come to her aid in the restaurant, prosecutors said.

An additional video clip showed Hood’s son stopping at the fast-food restaurant’s doorway, observing the incident, and going for a handgun in the pocket of his white hoodie. The teen allegedly shot Brown in the back twice. In cell phone footage obtained by CBS 2 Chicago, Brown is seen punching Hood three times before her son shot him.

Other portions of the recordings released by the Chicago Police Department on Tuesday followed Hood and her son in the parking lot. Prosecutors argued that the pair ran after Brown, with Hood instructing her son to shoot and kill the wounded man. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene.

With that, Cook County Judge Barbara Dawkins ruled that Brown was shot as he attempted to flee the restaurant after punching Hood.

“Things can bear themselves out differently at trial, but that, at that point, was not the defense of others. That was first-degree murder,” Dawkins said during a court hearing on June 22, per The Messenger.

In another clip, Hood can be seen without the headwrap running back into the Express before she attempts to grab the gun from her son. But her son dodged her and returned to the vehicle. Moments later, Hood met her son at the car and drove home.

It was reported that Hood and her son turned themselves in on Wednesday, June 21. Chicago PD seized an “unloaded, unregistered handgun” and an empty magazine, as per Fox 32. Both suspects were charged with first-degree murder.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Hood, who has no prior arrest record, has a valid gun owner’s license. The mom was also facing a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Her son was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. The youngster appeared in juvenile court and was ordered held without bail.

Christopher Tru Hood previously created a GoFundMe campaign to help the Hood family with legal and attorney fees. The page has since been taken down. The monetary goal was $50,000. Many donations flooded in, along with comments supporting her son’s actions to rescue his mother.

According to CBS Chicago, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office said in a statement that the decision was made after “continued review and in light of emerging evidence.”

“Based upon the facts, evidence, and the law we are unable to meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases,” the statement added.