A 7-year-old boy was shot Sunday morning in the Roseland neighborhood while in a vehicle with his family who was heading to a church service, police said.
At approximately 11:21 a.m. in the 10800 block of South State Street, a male offender began firing shots in the direction of the vehicle the boy was in, according Chicago police Deputy Chief Larry Snelling.
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Five occupants were in the vehicle including the 7-year-old, Snelling said at a news conference.
One of the vehicle occupants confronted a person who was going inside a nearby parked vehicle that belonged to the occupant. At that point, the person pointed a gun and fired shots, Snelling said. One of the rounds struck the boy and another struck the car. The shooter fled the scene.
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The boy was taken to Roseland Community Hospital and then transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
“I want to commend our 5th district officers for their quick response,” Snelling said. “They gave chase, and they were able to take that subject into custody.”
The shooter was positively identified by some of the occupants who were in the vehicle.
Area Two detectives are investigating and questioning the person of interest. There is no other information available at this time.
“It’s hard to stand here and say he was lucky but this could have been worse,” Snelling said. “I do understand that it’s really hard to walk out and see someone breaking in or damaging something that you paid your hard earned dollars for, but it’s not worth it to confront that individual because life is on the line.”
tatturner@chicagotribune.com
