Teen Gang Member Accidentally Shoots Mom In The Back: Police

PALATINE, IL — A self-described 15-year-old gang member accidentally shot and wounded his mother last week while handling a gun in the back seat of the car they both were in, according to Palatine police. The teenager was arrested Wednesday and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in juvenile court. He's currently being held in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago.

According to police, the shooting happened at around 6:30 p.m. May 27 in the area of Green Lane North at North Baldwin Road. A 45-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her back was found when officers arrived at the scene, and she was taken to Lutheran General Hospital. The woman is now recovering after she underwent surgery for the injury, police said. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Palatine news. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Investigators were originally told the shot came from outside the vehicle, but they later determined that the bullet that wounded the woman came from inside the car she was in. Police say the woman's son accidentally fired the gun from the vehicle's back seat while he was handling the weapon, and the shot hit the mother in the back.

Photo via Shutterstock

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