Chicago man charged with leaving gun unattended before two sons, ages 8 and 5, were shot as he slept in Grand Crossing
A Chicago man has been arrested on felony child endangerment charges, after police said he left a loaded handgun unattended while he was sleeping on Thursday before he woke up to find his two sons had been shot, one of them fatally.
Derrick Taylor, 32, has been charged with child endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Court records show his detention hearing on Saturday was postponed while he remained hospitalized for a mental health evaluation, and he was ordered to remain in custody until his next scheduled hearing on Monday.
Taylor was sleeping at his home in the 1400 block of East 71st Place around 5:20 p.m., when he woke to the sound of gunfire, and found his son, 8-year-old Josiah Hooker, had been shot in his head, according to a police arrest report. His 5-year-old son also had suffered a graze wound to the head, although the police report does not indicate who fired the gun.
Taylor then picked up Josiah and ran outside, where he asked a neighbor for help. The neighbor called 911, and a postal worker who was delivering mail performed CPR on Josiah until an ambulance arrived.
Josiah was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The 5-year-old boy was taken to Comer in good condition.
Taylor's three other children – a 3-year-old, a 9-month-old, and a 1-month-old – also were home at the time and witnessed the shooting, according to the arrest report. Police later learned Taylor had left a loaded 9mm handgun unattended on a TV stand while he was sleeping.
As a convicted felon, Taylor was not legally allowed to own a gun.
