6-Year-Old Boy Shot During Cops And Robbers Game
Updated 11/14/11 - 5:35 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 6-year old boy remained hospitalized Monday morning, after a game of cops and robbers turned dangerous.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, the little boy, Marshown Means, was accidentally shot by a gun that was taken out of a locked box in his Morgan Park neighborhood home. But the boy who shot Marshown, his 14-year-old uncle, was jealous and told the little boy he hated him as the shots were fired, according to Marshown's mother.
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As of Monday morning, Marshown was recovering quite well, given the circumstances. The bullet entered through his chest and left through his back, and family members reportedly think it is a miracle that he survived after a childhood game went bad in the worst possible way.
Police say Marshown was shot around 10 a.m. Sunday in the family's home in the 1700 block of West Steuben Street.
His mother said he was visiting his grandfather at the Morgan Park home when he was accidentally shot by his 14-year-old uncle. Police say the older boy forced Marshown to play cops and robbers.
The shooting has enraged Marshown's mother, Nalena Triplett, who claims she learned her 14-year-old half-brother was jealous of her son.
"He didn't like what my father was doing with my son. My daddy is a good father – buying him clothes and shoes and stuff like that, so he got jealous and shot my baby and told him, 'I hate you,'" she said.
Triplett said she learned her son had been shot when her half-brother had called to apologize for shooting Marshown.
Marshown was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, initially in critical condition.
Neighbors saw the aftermath, and couldn't believe that the young boy known for his ability to sing and rap had been hit.
"I was totally moved by the situation, period. A child, that's heartfelt, you know, to be shot. I've been shot before, so ... a 6-year-old to be harmed in such a terrible manner, you know, I was shocked," neighbor LaToya Wiles said.
Family members say Marshown is expected to survive, and was actually able to watch television after undergoing surgery.
"He smiled at me – he's cool," Triplett said, "and the first thing he said was he wanted to watch Disney – 'Spongebob.'"
The gun had been locked up, but the teenager found the key and unlocked his grandfather's weapon.
The boy's grandfather was taken into custody, but it was not immediately clear if he or the 14-year-old uncle would face charges.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the uncle, the boy's grandfather, and the boy's mother.
