Family Says They're Moving After Boy, 12, Is Wounded In Head By Bullet While Watching Cartoons At Home In Calumet City
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- A 12-year-old Calumet City boy was recovering in the hospital Saturday after getting shot in the head.
The boy was on the couch watching cartoons at the time, and his father told CBS 2's Marissa Parra the TV might actually have saved his life.
"They came down this street shooting at each other," said Carloz Munoz.
The father of five described what sounded like fireworks around 8:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial Drive and Douglas Avenue in Calumet City. He would find out just moments later they were gunshots.
"'Boom! Boom! Boom!' and then I heard my older son, the 14-year-old, had blood on his face. We saw the other boy on the floor," Munoz said. "Everybody started crying, screaming. We didn't know what happened. I told my wife to call the cops fast."
His 12-year-old son, Danny Munoz, was on the ground – hit in the head, but alive.
"It hit him right in the back of the head, and when it hit him it was just shattered pieces of bullets, because the bullet broke into pieces when it hit the TV," Carloz Munoz said. "If it wasn't there, it probably would have just killed him."
For once, Carloz Munoz found himself grateful for the TV, which helped slow the bullet in its path to his son. But he can't help but wonder why his son couldn't even be safe watching cartoons on the couch.
"He's a good boy. He likes his dogs. He plays a lot. But I don't know. People don't consider humans anymore," Carloz Munoz said. "He was inside watching Spongebob. You can't even be safe in your own home."
Munoz said he moved to Calumet City to find safety.
"I lived in Chicago all my life," he said. "We moved out here because of too many problems, too many gangs."
But now, he is fleeing his home in Calumet City too.
"If you can't be safe in your own home, you can't stay here no more," he said. "Hopefully, we'll be out of here by next weekend."
Danny Munoz was at Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn on Saturday. At last check, he was undergoing critical surgery.
Police believe there are bullet fragments inside the TV and the boy's head that could offer clues as to who fired those bullets and why.
Detectives on Saturday were still going over evidence and security camera footage. Anyone with information that can help crack the case can reach out to Calumet City police anonymously.
