Fortunately no one was hit by gunfire in an abbreviated shootout between a police officer and a suspected gang member in Chicago Monday, but it would have been something to see if Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren would have added #KentrellPledger to their list of #BlackLivesMatter tweets.
WLS in Chicago reported that Pledger, 29, approached by a police officer Monday afternoon, ran off before allegedly pulling a gun from his waistband and firing twice at the officer, who returned fire.
The twist is that, less than an hour before the exchange of gunfire, Pledger apparently posted a video to his Facebook page in which he points the same gun, a .40-caliber pistol, at the viewer, while “carousing with friends … waving wads of cash, smoking and mugging for the camera.”
Chicago man aimed pistol at his Facebook friends-then police say fired on an officer. @ABC7Chicago #ITeam at 6pm. pic.twitter.com/wfRVSVVky1
— ChuckGoudie (@ChuckGoudieABC7) August 23, 2016
Man who shot at Chicago police wielded gun in Facebook video prior to shooting: https://t.co/O7GFwFcNTP pic.twitter.com/A2lhqRdAy1
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) August 23, 2016
Pledger was later found hiding under a neighborhood porch and arrested on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault of a police officer, a gun violation, and drug possession. Detectives say he was found with heroin in his wallet.
Investigative reporter Chuck Gouldie reports that in court on Tuesday, Pledger “suggested that he should have finished off the cop that he shot at, shouting at Judge Adam Bourgeois, Jr. that he should have just ‘smoked’ him.”
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