Beecher Family Targeted in Alleged Hate Crime Gun Attack Left Chicago to Escape Gang Violence

The stepfather of two young men targeted in an alleged hate crime outside their home said his family moved to Beecher from Chicago to escape gang violence.

“We moved out to Beecher for a safer environment and now we have racial bigotry,” said David Svalina, who told of giving up his job as a Chicago police officer to leave the city. Svalina is now a Will County deputy.

Svalina’s stepsons, ages 20 and 16, were outside his home March 15 when two teens allegedly drove up in a red Jeep Wrangler, opened fire with a handgun and called the young men n----rs.

Svalina said he and his wife, Gladys, who was also a Chicago police officer and is now a registered nurse, were watching the movie Exodus and did not hear the shots. They did hear their sons crashing through the front door in their rush to get inside.

The next day, the Beecher police arrested Jacob Slager, 19, and an unidentified 17-year-old.

Both teens were charged with three counts of committing a hate crime, two counts of the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of reckless discharge of a firearm.

The 17-year-old was taken to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center. Slager was locked up in the Will County jail but did not stay there long. He was released the following evening on a $250,000 bond.

While Svalina said Slager and the other teen had been harassing his stepsons even before the shooting, he suspects the attack was motivated not only by racism but also—to a lesser degree—by a hatred for the police. He also believes the matter is “just one isolated incident” and not reflective of the community he and his family recently made their new home.

Svalina went on to tell of a gang shooting in Chicago that factored into his decision to move to Beecher. A stray bullet came through the window of his house and into the room where his older son was playing. As in the alleged gun attack from last week, his son was not injured.

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