Chicago shooting: 10-year-old fires gun at officers in Beverly
CHICAGO (CBS) – A 10-year-old boy allegedly got a hold of a gun and fired shots inside a home in Beverly and at Chicago police officers on Monday.
A call about a 10-year-old in "mental distress" and firing shots with an unsecured gun inside a home in the 9800 block of South Charles Street came in around 11:20 a.m., police said.
When officers responded to the scene, they were shot at. Officers took cover. Police said they tried to de-escalate the situation.
The boy was on the porch of the home and pointed the gun at officers, police said. Officers fired bean bags at the home, although they did not strike the boy. The boy went back into the home but came outside and again pointed the gun at officers.
A CPD SWAT unit then used a chemical irritant, spraying it on the wall of the home. The boy dropped the gun and was arrested.
He was taken to a hospital in good condition for evaluation. No one was injured during the incident.
"Looking at this like a street deputy, definitely I'm impressed," said Chicago Deputy Police Chief Migdalia Bulnes. "I am always impressed with the Chicago Police Department and the officers that come to these incidents. They're professionals. SWAT, their training, it really came to forehand today, in terms of making the decisions and having the conversations that we had today to have this peacefully resolved."
The child fired as many as four shots inside the home, and one was fired at officers.
"We have what I would describe as a happy ending, but people just need to be more careful when you're going to have weapons in homes," said Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th).
O'Shea confirmed the gun was legally owned by someone inside the home. Police are investigating how the boy got ahold of the gun. It's unclear if any charges will be filed.