CHICAGO — A security contractor who recently declared Chicago a “war zone” with a “massive gun problem” in a social media video has been charged with shooting a man in Back of the Yards on Christmas night.
Colton Lexus, 30, will appear for a detention hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Saturday afternoon, according to Chicago police.
Exactly what prosecutors believe happened in the 700 block of West Garfield shortly before 9 o’clock that night will be revealed in court. However, CPD released a media statement on Christmas night saying that a 30-year-old man was inside an apartment when he shot an adult male who had been kicking on the unit’s rear door from the outside. Police said Lexus lives in the 700 block of West Garfield and was arrested there about an hour after the shooting.
The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, according to CPD.
Lexus is charged with aggravated battery by discharging a firearm.
Just three weeks ago, a video Lexus posted to YouTube and TikTok began circulating online because he claimed that his private security company’s client list had exploded from six people to “over 200 subjects” within six months.
“Our justice system in Chicago is not working,” Lexus claimed, saying repeat offenders keep getting released to commit more crimes.
“It is insane. It has gotten extremely dangerous,” said Lexus. “The city of Chicago has a massive gun problem. And it is not just a problem, it has become a war zone. Chicago is now officially a war zone.”
Lexus claimed Chicago’s gun problem was so bad he “put together maps of specific areas that we call red zones.”
“I don’t send any of my team to respond for anything” in red zones, Lexus said.
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