High-Ranking Mount Vernon Official Fired After Allegedly Driving Getaway Car for Son in Bronx Gang Shooting

Jennifer Lackard, 49, a high-ranking Mount Vernon police official, was fired on Tuesday after being arrested alongside her 20-year-old son, who is accused of opening fire outside the Bronx Criminal Court and then fleeing in a car she allegedly drove.

Authorities charged the pair with attempted murder, criminal possession of a firearm, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment, along with three counts of attempted assault and six counts of weapons possession. The municipality terminated her employment immediately following the arrests, stressing that the criminal charges are being prosecuted by the Bronx District Attorney.

Police Raid Ends in Termination

Officers responded to multiple reports of gunfire outside the Bronx Criminal Court near East 162nd Street and Grant Avenue just before midnight on 29 June. Police said a gunman fired at a crowd of people before fleeing north in a vehicle toward East 163rd Street.

Investigators allege the younger Lackard shot at rivals and then ran into a car driven by his mother. No injuries were reported from the scene.

Detectives executed a search warrant at the family residence in Soundview early Tuesday morning, taking both suspects into custody. Following the operation, the Mount Vernon Police Department issued a formal statement regarding the immediate dismissal of their deputy commissioner.

The department issued a statement clarifying that the charges are entirely separate from her professional duties and do not stem from any conduct associated with her municipal responsibilities.

The local government said it remains fully committed to its nationally recognised wellness unit. Public records from SeeThroughNY indicate the former executive earned a salary of approximately £108,000 ($138,219) last year before her termination.

Prior Violence Linked to the Bronx Gang Shooting Suspect

The younger Lackard is a reputed member of the 'Slutty Gang' and has a documented criminal record involving firearms. Earlier in 2024, law enforcement officers shot the 20-year-old after he allegedly brandished a weapon during a dispute in Clason Point. That incident alone drew headlines, yet it was not his first encounter with near-fatal violence.

Following the Clason Point shooting earlier in the year, the younger Lackard's connections to law enforcement first became a matter of public record. Reports revealed his mother's senior role within the Mount Vernon Police Department, which brought scrutiny to the executive before this latest courthouse incident.

Only a year prior, the youth was involved in another altercation. While riding a Bx5 bus in Soundview at age 17, he engaged in a physical fight with three other young men. Police reported he flashed gang signs and questioned their affiliations before attempting to drag one of the youths off the public transit vehicle.

That confrontation escalated when another teenager pulled a weapon and shot him in the chest. Officials point to these repeated encounters as part of a broader pattern of gang friction culminating in the latest gunfire near the courthouse.

As the Bronx District Attorney prepares to prosecute the mother and son, authorities continue to investigate the ongoing rivalries and the former executive's alleged involvement.

The New York Police Department is asking any witnesses who might have seen the getaway vehicle speeding away from the crime scene to come forward with additional information.