Chase Lackard allegedly shot at a man believed to be affiliated with a rival gang. Jennifer Lackard then allegedly helped her son flee the scene.
A former New York police official has been accused of becoming her own son's getaway driver after he allegedly carried out a gang-related shooting outside a Bronx courthouse.
Jennifer Lackard, 49, a former senior official with the Mount Vernon Police Department, was arrested Tuesday alongside her 20-year-old son, Chase Lackard, following an investigation into a June 29 shooting near the Bronx Criminal Courthouse, per the New York Post. Investigators allege Chase Lackard opened fire near East 162nd Street and Grand Avenue while targeting a man believed to be affiliated with a rival gang. No one was injured in the shooting. Jennifer Lackard then allegedly helped her son flee the scene immediately afterward, leading to both mother and son being charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a firearm, conspiracy and reckless endangerment. Authorities arrested the pair Tuesday morning at their Bronx home.
The Mount Vernon Police Department later confirmed Jennifer Lackard had been terminated from her position effective immediately. "The City of Mount Vernon has terminated Jennifer Lackard's employment," the department said, adding that its Wellness Unit would continue operating without interruption. The department identified Lackard as its former Deputy Commissioner of Wellness, although several local news outlets referred to her as a former Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety.
Police have described Chase Lackard as a reputed member of the "Slutty Gang," a Bronx street gang previously linked to violent disputes in the borough. In November 2024, Lackard was shot by NYPD officers after police said he pointed a loaded handgun at officers responding to a disturbance in Soundview. Authorities said he was carrying a loaded 9mm pistol during that confrontation. Court records cited by local media also show he had been arrested on a gun possession charge just months earlier before being granted supervised release.
In a separate incident in 2023, Chase Lackard was shot in the chest aboard a BX5 bus after investigators said he allegedly flashed gang signs, challenged several teenagers over their gang affiliations and attempted to drag one of them off the bus before another youth opened fire. Neither the NYPD nor the Bronx District Attorney's Office has publicly released additional details about the evidence underpinning the latest charges. Jennifer Lackard and her son remain facing multiple felony counts as the investigation continues.
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