On Tuesday, the “Super Bass” rapper shared an Instagram story praising the teen who was seen on video taking lethal action to defend his mother as she was brutally attacked at a South Side Chicago hot dog stand last week. She called him “a true hero.”
Carlishia Hood, 35, was arguing with Jeremy Brown, 32, at the West Pullman fast food eatery. In a surveillance video obtained by CBS News Chicago, the man is heard telling the woman to get her food and threatens that if she continues talking, he’ll “knock her out.” Hood had apparently texted her 14-year-old son, who was sitting in the car, to alert him that trouble was brewing.
Just as her son came inside, Brown punched Hood in the face with full force and continued punching her. The teen is seen frantically pulling a gun from his hoodie pocket and opening fire. According to prosecutors, Hood told her son to shoot the man again and kill him. Brown was shot twice in the back and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Hood then instructed her son to shoot a witness who was laughing and egging on the man who assaulted her, prosecutors say, and attempted to grab the gun from her son, but he wrested it away before they fled the scene.
Both Hood and her teenage son, who had no previous criminal records, were initially charged with first-degree murder and turned themselves in on Thursday. Hood, who had a valid concealed carry license at the time of the deadly encounter, was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Her son was held without bail at a juvenile detention hall.
But on Monday, more than a week after the incident occurred, Cook County prosecutors dropped the charges, saying new evidence had come to light and the burden of proof could not be met.
Video of the incident quickly made its way around social media, sparking debate over the way the altercation unfolded.
According to Minaj, the teenager did what any son should do.
The Grammy-nominated rapper shared an impassioned message for the teen via a since-expired Instagram story, saying, “That 14 year old boy that backed that hammer out when that grown ass man was punching his mother in the face as if she were a MAN; is a true hero.”
“If he wants to go to college, I’d love to help. It’s what ANY son should’ve done for their MOTHER,” she continued. “She raised a dope kid & should be so proud. Also, God knew b4 she knew; that she’d be attacked that day & made sure they had protection on DECK. God is GOOD.”
On Tuesday, Brown and her attorneys filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago and five police officers, claiming she and her teenage son were falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted.
“On June 18 of this year, my life changed,” Hood said during a Tuesday news conference. “My son’s life changed. What happened to me was totally unnecessary. Never in a million years would I have imagined being brutally attacked, beaten and being arrested.”
She then said she was thankful that the Cook County state’s attorney dismissed the cases against her and her son. “I am also thankful to have my son with me and by my side,” she said, also thanking the people around the world who had her online.
“The people did not play, and I just thank God everything was revealed.”