Grandmother provided crucial help in arrest for road rage shooting of toddler on Lake Shore Drive, police say

Chicago police say the grandmother of 22-month-old Kayden Swann provided crucial help in the arrest of a man suspected of shooting the boy in the head in a brazen road-rage attack on Lake Shore Drive.

“We couldn’t have arrested him without her cooperation,” Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said after attempted murder charges were filed against Deandre Binion, 25.

Detectives had used surveillance video to track the shooter’s car after the April 6 shooting, but it was the grandmother’s detailed description of the gunman that led to Binion’s arrest, Deenihan said in a news conference Thursday.

“She didn’t know the defendant. Like I said, this was road rage,” he said. “She gave us a great description, so we were able to put him in a photo array, and she eventually picked him out.”

Binion was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. Police recovered the weapon used in the shooting, along with other weapons, Deenihan said.

Prosecutors have previously charged Jushawn Brown with unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting. In his initial court hearing, prosecutors said Brown was driving his car on Lake Shore Drive, with Kayden in the rear seat, when an SUV that attempted to merge onto the highway nearly struck his car near Soldier Field.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Brown pulled over and yelled at the driver of the SUV, and the two exchanged words until the driver of the SUV pulled out a gun and showed it to Brown while asking him, “What did he want to do about it,” prosecutors said.

Brown took out his own gun and placed it on his lap before trying to drive away from the SUV, which followed him.

The driver of the SUV fired several shots at Brown’s car near the Shedd Aquarium, striking it several times. One of the bullets smashed through the rear passenger window and hit the boy in the head.

Brown continued to drive north until he lost control and crashed.

A good Samaritan picked up Brown, Brown’s girlfriend and the child and drove them to Northwestern Hospital. The boy was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Kayden suffered a severe brain injury and was put in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator, doctors said. Earlier this week, doctors said the child was out of intensive care and showing “remarkable progress.”

Binion was found not guilty in 2018 of possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and aggravated unauthorized use of a weapon, court records show. He was expected to appear in court on the latest charges Friday.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times