12-Year-Old Boy Unintentionally Shot By Friend Playing With Gun

CHICAGO — A 12-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was unintentionally shot Thursday evening by a friend playing with a gun inside a South Side home, police said.

The boy was struck once in the chest and taken to Comer Children's Hospital.

The friend, also a juvenile, ran from the scene but was later found and released without charges, according to Chicago police. The gun was recovered from the building.

The incident took place in the Ida B. Wells/Darrow Homes neighborhood in a high-rise complex on the 3500 block of South Rhodes Avenue around 7 p.m., officials from the Chicago Fire Department said.

Community activists, friends and family gathered in front of Comer Children's Thursday night but declined to comment on the young boy's state.