'That really just hurt. It hurt our community. It still hurts. That could have been my little cousin.” How youth in Adam Toledo's neighborhood are processing his shooting.
“I don't even feel safe in my block because of gang bangers and now with the cops doing this, I don't even feel safe around them either," one teen said.
A little over a month after the shooting, many young people in Little Village, a predominantly Latino neighborhood where Toledo lived and died, say they are still processing his death and carry with them a lingering sadness coupled with an even greater distrust of law enforcement and a system they feel has consistently failed them.
"The tragedy of the death of a 13-year-old boy has been clouded by the confusion and frustration my office has caused and for this I apologize," State's Attorney Kim FoxxThe shooting added fuel to an already raging fire of mistrust between the Chicago police department and the city’s communities of color, with several mass demonstrations by thousands of protestors taking place in the city.
“They didn’t have to murder him. I think there could have been another way for the officer to handle the situation,” he said. “I don't even feel safe in my block because of gang bangers and now with the cops doing this, I don't even feel safe around them either," said Diego, whose last name was withheld to protect his privacy.
Their concern among the largely minority community is not displaced as the rate of police killings in Chicago and two of its large suburbs was 1.2 times higher with Latinos and 6.5 times higher with Blacks than it was with whites from 2013 to 2017, according to aFor young people, seeing acts of violence repeatedly in their communities has far-reaching effects, said Aderonke Pederson, a psychiatrist and professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Demonstrators protest the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, in Logan Park, Chicago, on April 16, 2021.As youth are still reeling over Toledo's death, several overwhelming themes have repeatedly emerged from their narratives, including that they feel unheard, unprotected and frustrated with a system they believe doesn’t value them.over who was to blame, with many pointing fingers at Toledo himself for being out so late, and also at his mother for not knowing his whereabouts.
With gangs residing in the area, it takes a lot of resources and youth-based support to help guide kids in the right direction, she said. The system failed on multiple levels to provide those kinds of things to youth like Adam, Gonzalez added.