5-year-old shot, critically injured by 8-year-old relative in Joliet, police say
Joliet police said a 5-year-old was critically when an 8-year-old relative got ahold of a gun in a home overnight.
Police said they were called to St. Joseph Medical Center after a mother brought in her 5-year-old son with a gunshot wound.
Police said the boy was shot while in the care of another family member at a home in the 500-block of Dover Street in Joliet. Investigators believe an 8-year-old relative of the victim had gotten ahold of a handgun that was kept in the bedroom of the home and shot the 5-year-old.
He was struck in the abdomen. Family members drove him to the hospital.
The boy was airlifted from St. Joseph to University of Chicago Comer Hospital in critical condition.
The family was interviewed about the incident, including the 8-year-old, and a handgun was recovered from the home, police said. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services were also notified.
Police haven't said whether they believe the shooting was an accidental discharge or not. The investigation remains open and ongoing, Joliet police said.
No one is currently in custody.
