A 5-year-old boy has died following a shooting incident in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago. According to FOX 32 Chicago, the young victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head inside an apartment on Sunday afternoon and was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition before being pronounced dead.
The shooting occurred around 1:17 p.m. on the 4400 block of South Greenwood Avenue. A firearm was found at the scene. However, no arrests have been made, and detectives are currently investigating the situation. In a statement obtained by CBS News Chicago, a police source indicated that the boy may have accidentally shot himself after accessing an unsecured gun inside the apartment.
Further adding to the tragedy, the family reported to a gun victim's advocate that the child had only just started kindergarten the week before this incident occurred. "This one in particular is tragic, sudden, family in shock, just shocking to us all," Pastor Donovan Price, who works with victims of violence, told CBS News Chicago. Price echoed the sentiment of gun safety advocates, emphasizing the need for extra measures to be put in place to protect children from firearms. "When a child is in the house, you have to do everything. It's just like child-proofing the house with the electrical system in the house. You have to go the extra mile," he said.
