Child who shot himself in Joliet still in critical condition at Chicago hospital: cops

A 2-year-old boy who shot himself in the face with a 9 mm handgun in Joliet still remains in critical condition at a Chicago hospital, police said.

As of Thursday afternoon, detectives are still investigating the child’s self-inflicted shooting that occurred on Tuesday at a residence in the 300 block of Comstock Street, said Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

The child had shot himself in the face with a 9 mm handgun, English said.

When officers responded to the incident at 12:16 p.m. Tuesday, they performed life-saving measures on the child, who was then taken to Ascension Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, English said. Afterward, the child was flown to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

He still remains at the hospital in critical condition, English said.

At the time of the incident, the child was with his mother and her 1-year-old child at the Comstock Street residence, according to English. The mother has been cooperating with police in the investigation, he said.

No one answered the door to the residence on Thursday morning.

Vilma Diaz, the owner of the residence, said she had rented the place to just one man, whom she declined to name.

Diaz said the man has been living at the one-bedroom residence since May and she didn’t know why there was a woman there.

“I don’t know what went on in there,” Diaz said.

Because the investigation is still ongoing, English declined to answer questions about the residence or who owned the gun.

In a previous statement about the shooting, English said detectives were able to determine that the 2-year-old child appeared to have shot himself in the face after accessing an unsecured and loaded handgun in the bedroom of the residence.

The Joliet Police Department investigated a similar incident on June 2, 2021, in the 200 block of South Eastern Avenue. Angelo Shelby, 2, died after he accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun owned by his father, Vincent Shelby, 39, of Joliet.

On July 29, Shelby was found guilty of the misdemeanor offense of unlawful storage of a firearm within premises. He has yet to be sentenced. His attorney, Chuck Bretz, is fighting to get an acquittal or new trial for his client.