7-year-old shot as family’s car pulls up to church, Illinois cops say. ‘Senseless’
A 7-year-old boy was hospitalized with a shattered femur after he was shot while pulling up to church with loved ones, according to his family in Illinois.
As they were arriving at church, they saw a man going through their grandmother’s car, according to a GoFundMe raising money for the boy.
The man had broken into the vehicle parked near Universal Community Missionary Baptist Church, CBS reported.
Police said a relative confronted the man, WLS reported, and he began firing his rifle toward the family.
In an incident report, Chicago police said officers were called to the shooting in the 10800 block of South State Street at about 11:20 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2. Detectives said the 7-year-old was shot once in his left thigh.
Family rushed him to a hospital, where he was then taken to a children’s hospital in stable condition, according to WGN.
Area police officers chased the suspected shooter and arrested him, WLS reported. Family members identified the man as the shooter.
“I want to commend our 5th District officers for their quick response,” Deputy Chief Larry Snelling told the TV station. “They were in this area performing post-shooting and violence reduction missions, and they were able to respond immediately. They gave chase and were able to take that suspect into custody.”
The boy’s mom, Keshawana Barr, said her family “is traumatized and hurt from this senseless act of violence.”
“My baby life is at a standstill for months. He has to get rods put in his leg due to his femur being shattered by the bullet,” she said in a Facebook post. “I was so scared and traumatized and my baby is mentally not okay and is in so much pain. All our kids and my husband and mother was in our car when that dude shot at our car for no reason at all.”
“No man should have to run their 7 year old son covered in blood in the hospital because he was shot,” she continued. “He is just a kid. This is our baby.”
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