3-Year-Old Accidentally Shot In Head, Father Faces Weapons Charges

A 3-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the head in Chicago on Friday, and his father faces weapons charges in connection with the shooting.

The boy was inside a closet playing with a gun along with two other children when witnesses heard a shot from inside the house, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The father, James Jenkins, was outside when the shooting happened and fled with the gun as soon as police arrived, according to the paper.

The boy was critically injured and rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital. By Sunday he had reportedly reached a stable condition.

Jenkins was taken into custody over the weekend after an investigation identified him as the owner of the handgun, the Tribune reported.

He was charged with a felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and possession of a weapon by a felon.

h/t DNAinfo Chicago

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  1. Just another freedom fluke. There are approximately 80 gun deaths in the U.S. each and every day on average.

    Where are the other 79? Happening at this very moment.

  2. Avatar for dorado dorado says:

    wait, i bet this has nothing to do with guns, again…

  3. NRA to do fundraiser for the “poor misunderstood gun that was kept locked in a closet.”

  4. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a kinda, sorta, maybe legitimate defensive use of a gun (blind man shoots nephew breaking into his house) to balance a story about an idiot with a gun hurting him- or herself. Then again, I question whether a blind man using a gun for protection is actually legitimate.

  5. I’m happy the child may recover.

    I wonder how the father acquired the gun since he is a felon?

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