Why Chicago, Illinois cop Jason Van Dyke shot Laquan McDonald 16 times

Laquan Joseph McDonald of Chicago, Illinois, United States died at the age of 17. He was shot by a police officer 16 times.

At 9:54 p.m. on October 20, 2014, McDonald was carrying a knife while walking along South Pulaski Road in Chicago. The African American teen was allegedly breaking into vehicles in a trucking yard at 41st Street and Kildare Avenue in Chicago.

When Chicago Police Department officers confronted McDonald, he used a knife with a 3-inch blade to slice the tire on a patrol vehicle and damage its windshield. The officers instructed him repeatedly to drop the knife but he did not comply.

One of the officers, Jason D. Van Dyke, 37, advanced on McDonald while the latter was walking away. At 9:57 p.m., the officer fired a shot, which hit the teenager.

Van Dyke fired 15 more shots into McDonald as the latter lay on the ground, still holding the knife. Nine of the shots hit the teenager’s back.

At 10:42 p.m., McDonald was pronounced dead in Mount Sinai Medical Center in Chicago. His death was ruled a homicide.

Born in Hinsdale, Illinois, Van Dyke graduated from Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Illinois in 1996. He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St. Xavier University in Chicago and joined the Chicago Police Department in 2001.

Van Dyke was involved in preparing questionable documentation of a shooting in 2005. On November 24, 2015, he was charged with first-degree murder in McDonald’s murder and denied bond.