CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An 18-year-old south suburban man who allegedly posted a video of himself pretending to shoot at police is behind bars on Thursday.
Posen Police Chief William Alexander said Chicago Police who were assigned to collect intelligence via social media tipped off Posen Police on Monday that they’d seen videos of a Posen resident on social media, including one in which he stands in the living room pointing a semi-automatic handgun at a picture window and allegedly pretends to shoot at a Posen Police squad that had been on his block for another incident.
Chief Alexander said that, in another video, Emmanuel Saldana was seen posing with another gun that had unique carvings and police were able to determine that gun had been reported stolen.
Using that information, police obtained a search warrant at the house where Saldana lives and on Wednesday morning around 5 a.m., police, along with the South Suburban Emergency Response Team in an armored vehicle, rolled up to Saldana’s home.
Through a public address system, Chief Alexander said everyone in the house was called to come outside. He said everyone complied and came out with their hands-up.
He said Saldana was arrested without incident and that the two guns seen in the videos were seized.
"We don’t take kindly to [threats on police>. That's why we acted as swiftly as we did, especially in the state of what's going on nowadays with these assaults on police officers," Chief Alexander said.
Chief Alexander said his officers have been to Saldana's home many times for incidents "involving him and people that he's been into it with." Chief Alexander said he has been a police officer for 24 years and has never seen anything like Saldana's alleged threat.
Saldana is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of ammunition without a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.