Boy, 5, Shot In Joliet House By 8-Year-Old: Police

JOLIET, IL — A 5-year-old Joliet child is fighting to stay alive after being shot on Thursday night at an east side of Joliet house by another child, the Joliet police revealed.

Police spokesman Dwayne English said that at 12:11 a.m. Friday, officers responded to St. Joseph Medical Center after a 5-year-old boy was brought in by his mother with a gunshot wound.

The child was shot while in the care of a family member at a residence in the 500 block of Dover Street. Police believe that an 8-year-old relative of the victim had accessed a handgun in a bedroom of the home and shot the 5-year-old, striking him in the abdomen, English said.

The victim was brought to St Joseph Medical Center by family members and was then airlifted to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago in critical condition.

Detectives responded to the scene and hospital and interviewed all parties, including the 8-year- old child. Officers recovered the handgun from the residence. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified.

"No further information will be provided at this time as this case remains under investigation," English announced.