Boy Shot by Elderly Woman in Psychiatric Care: Mom

The 12-year-old boy shot by an elderly woman who was being attacked with bricks is in psychiatric care, his mother says.

The boy, charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault, did not appear in Juvenile Court on Tuesday alongside his alleged 13-year-old accomplice.

The 12-year-old's mother told Judge Andrew Berman that the boy has been hospitalized since Oct. 3, recovering from the trauma of being shot in the shoulder.

"You’re gonna have vigilantes all over the city taking matters into their own hands,"  the boy’s mother said after the hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "A 12-year-old boy getting shot? Wouldn’t you be traumatized?"

Police say 68-year-old Margaret Matthews went grocery shopping last month and returned to her South Shore home to find her windows broken and two boys running away. When the boys returned, she stepped onto her porch and the boys threw bricks at her, police said.

She chased the boys and fired shots at them, striking one in the shoulder, police said.

Neighbors said at the time that the injured boy was a known troublemaker in the neighborhood and a "little monster" who is the head of a small neighborhood gang.

Berman set a Nov. 18 trial date.  Matthews was not charged with any wrongdoing.