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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2019 in a Facebook post: Says instead of arresting a teen who was sneaking into a gym, a Chicago cop \"shot him 53 times.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Fake news * Facebook Fact-checks * Facebook posts ![\\"Samantha](\\" By Samantha Putterman September 16, 2019 # A Chicago cop didn’t shoot a teen for sneaking into a gym – he bought him a membership A Facebook post that claims a Chicago police officer shot a teenager \"53 times\" for sneaking into a gym is a malicious distortion of what actually happened. In reality, the police officer helped the teen buy a gym membership. The Facebook post, which displays a photograph of the officer and his full name, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The real story originated in August 2017, according to the Chicago Tribune, when a teen around 15 years old was warned that if he continued to sneak onto the basketball court of the XSport Fitness facility in Skokie, Ill., just north of Chicago, the police would be called. The gym’s staff eventually alerted the Skokie Police Department after the boy attempted to get in again. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 16, 2024 in an Instagram post The World Health Organization ordered governments to prepare for “mega lockdown” because of an mpox strain. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • August 20, 2024 Valenti responded, and when he found out the teen had a membership that expired after his mother couldn’t afford it anymore, \"he offered to pay $150 out of his own pocket, asking fitness center workers how much membership time that would buy for the boy,\" the Tribune reported. It covered up to about four months, but after the gym’s corporate office found out about the situation, they said the $150 would go toward a two-year membership, instead, with the gym picking up the rest of the cost. The false Facebook post includes Valenti’s full name and photo and appears to be the same photo published by the Tribune. In the post’s caption, it’s obvious the original text was erased and the part that says he \"shot him 53 times\" was inserted, as the text size and style doesn’t visually match up with the rest of the sentence. We rate this Pants on Fire! #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Facebook post, Sept. 13, 2019 ABC News, Illinois police officer buys teen a gym membership after catching him trespassing, Oct. 24, 2017 Fox News, Chicago cop gives teen who snuck into gym unexpected surprise, Oct. 18, 2017 Chicago Tribune, A Skokie cop could have arrested a teen who kept sneaking into a gym. Instead, he bought him a membership, Oct. 18, 2017 Chicago Tribune, Teen thanks Skokie cop who paid for gym membership: \'It changes how I view police\', Oct. 24, 2017 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Samantha Putterman ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 13, 2024 in una publicación en X: Donald Trump escenificó el tiroteo en su mitin en Butler, Pensilvania. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • July 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on July 13, 2024 in social media posts: Donald Trump staged the shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 6, 2024 in a moderated conversation: Black women in the U.S. are “three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • July 11, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 28, 2024 in an ad: Project 2025 would defund K-12 schools. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview: “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 28, 2024 in a press conference: The proposal to put golf courses, hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked. … a lot of that stuff was half-baked and was not ready for prime time.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in un anuncio de radio de campaña: El senador Rick Scott no apoya las excepciones al aborto. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in an ad: Sen. Rick Scott does not support abortion exceptions. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 6, 2024 in an X post: “In 2021, Minnesotans were roughly five times more likely to move to Florida than vice versa” because they were “fleeing” the state under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 31, 2024 in an NABJ conference appearance: Kamala Harris was “Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on July 28, 2024 in an interview: Vice President Kamala Harris is “calling for an end to the child tax credit.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 18, 2024 in a campaign event: Project 2025 calls for restricting “access to IVF and contraception.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 24, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 13, 2024 in una publicación en X: Donald Trump escenificó el tiroteo en su mitin en Butler, Pensilvania. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • July 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on July 13, 2024 in social media posts: Donald Trump staged the shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 6, 2024 in a moderated conversation: Black women in the U.S. are “three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • July 11, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 28, 2024 in an ad: Project 2025 would defund K-12 schools. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview: “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 ### A Chicago cop didn’t shoot a teen for sneaking into a gym – he bought him a membership * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Says instead of arresting a teen who was sneaking into a gym a Chicago cop shot him 53 times