Prosecutors dropping case against mom of slain Chicago teen

CHICAGO – Prosecutors are dropping charges against a woman who was arrested at a hospital after her teenage daughter was fatally shot at a Chicago convenience store.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that it was seeking to dismiss misdemeanour charges of battery and resisting a police officer against 35-year-old Nyisha Beemon. She was arrested Feb. 25 after she allegedly pushed a police officer from behind, grabbed his vest and kicked him while officers were trying to clear a hospital emergency room following the fatal shooting of her 18-year-old daughter, Jaya Beemon.

“Until recently, the State’s Attorney was unfamiliar with this matter as the charges — like all misdemeanouroffences — were filed directly by police without our review,” Aviva Bowen, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said in a statement. “Upon reviewing the facts and evidence, we determined the case should not be pursued and are moving to quickly dismiss the charges, so that a grieving mother can mourn the loss of her daughter in peace.”

Jaya Beemon, a nursing student, was buying snacks at a South Side convenience store when three people opened fire into the store, killing her and wounding four other people, according to police.

A $12,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooters.

A police spokesman said the department’s chief of operations will review the hospital incident.