Child dies after finding gun in sister’s purse in accidental Kenwood shooting

CHICAGO (WGN) — More than 24 hours after a young boy suffered a gunshot wound to the head in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood, several questions remain.

The deadly shooting incident appears to have been a tragic accident.

The update comes more than 24 hours after a young boy’s shooting inside the South Side apartment. According to the Department of Child and Family Services, the child is 4 years old. The boy lived with a foster family at the time of the shooting, sources told WGN-TV.

According to Chicago police, the incident occurred in the 4400 block of South Greenwood Avenue just after 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24. First responders rushed the boy to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

Pastor Donovan Price, who has been in touch with the family at the hospital, said the shooting appeared to be accidental.

“Self-inflicted,” Price said. “He got a hold of a gun, which is just, you know, something we need to work on.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the boy fatally shot himself after finding a gun inside his sister’s purse. According to a police report cited by the Sun-Times, the child’s sister, who is a licensed concealed carry holder with a valid FOID card, left her firearm in a black zippered purse on a bed while she was showering.

Officers later recovered a black handgun at the scene.

Chicago police say they are questioning a person of interest in connection with the deadly shooting, but have not yet confirmed details that the incident was accidental in nature. Authorities have announced no arrests concerning the case.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released the 4-year-old boy’s name.

“Happens far too frequently”

In July, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker took action to help prevent such tragedies and protect children from accidental shootings in their homes.

Pritzker signed two gun safety measures into law, including one that raises the age from 13 to 18, under which gun owners must store firearms in a locked, secure container where a minor could access them.

While the Safe Gun Storage Act, also referred to as the Safe at Home Law, won’t take effect until the new year, Kathleen Sances, president and CEO of G-Pac Illinois, a gun violence advocacy organization, said it’s a crucial measure.

“It happens far too frequently,” Sances said about shooting tragedies involving minors.

The hope, she adds, is that the measure will go a long way in saving young lives in the very place they should feel the safest.

“This is really about gun owner responsibility,” Sances added. “This isn’t a Second Amendment issue or taking guns away from people, and that’s why I think this is something that everybody can agree on.”