4-Year Old Dies After Accidentally Shooting Himself In Thornton

THORNTON, IL — A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head in Thornton Thursday night and later died, police in the suburb said. The boy was in the basement of a home on Blackhawk Drive and fired the gun on accident shortly before police responded at 8:41 p.m., according to a WGN report. Other people in the home told police they did not see it happen, the report states.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the young victim as Amir Jennings-Green.

Thornton police said they responded to a home on Blackhawk Drive, which is just east of Chicago Road, and found the child with "an apparent gunshot wound to the head."

Jennings-Green was taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, where he was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m., police and the Medical Examiner's Office both said.

Local police said they are working with members of the Illinois State Police on an investigation into the shooting.

An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death has been scheduled.