A 16-year-old boy turned himself in and was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of retired Chicago police Officer Larry Neuman, police announced Monday.
Authorities said they were still searching for a second suspect in Neuman’s slaying Thursday morning near his home in Garfield Park. The boy, whose name wasn’t released Monday, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and is set to appear in court Tuesday, the Chicago Police Department said.
Police Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said Neuman, 73, had been outside his house paying someone for cutting the grass when he saw two people approaching. Neuman pushed the other person out of the way and exchanged fire with the two suspects, who shot him multiple times.
Ursitti said the department received “an abundant amount of information” from neighbors and former residents of the area and said a community member accompanied the teen when he turned himself in. She didn’t elaborate on the relationship between the suspect and the community member.
During the investigation, a detective recognized the suspect from a previous arrest, Ursitti added.
Police Superintendent Larry Snelling called Neuman’s killing a “brazen and senseless act of violence” and said Neuman “would have done whatever he could” to help a teen who was at risk of being involved with violent crime.
“Larry’s life was taken by the very people he committed his life to helping,” he said.
Neuman served with the U.S. Marines, retired as the longest-serving explosives technician for the Police Department and spoke out against violent crime as a pastor after he left the department, Snelling said.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx noted that Monday’s news conference was the second in a week to see felony charges announced against a minor. Officials on Friday charged 16-year-old Raysean Comer with murder in the fatal shooting of Jai’Mani Amir Rivera, 7. Comer appeared for a detention hearing in court Saturday and will be tried as an adult.
Foxx said that while Neuman was a retiree and the other victim was a young boy, “the common thread is other children taking their lives.”
Snelling called for “an accountability factor” and pleaded with Chicagoans to step in with children who begin to get involved in illegal activity.
“Today’s armed robber who’s 13, 14 years old is tomorrow’s murderer at the age of 15 or 16,” he said. “If we don’t intervene now, we will be announcing felony murder charges for a 16-year-old.”
Snelling also said he had attended a memorial event Sunday for Neuman and saw how much respect Neuman had earned in the Garfield Park area.
“He was a hero in that community,” he said. “He was loved in that community. He was a person to be proud of.”
