No one was hurt when a 10-year-old boy fired a shot at Chicago police officers during a standoff Monday at a home in the Beverly neighborhood.
Officers responded about 11:20 a.m. after learning the boy had fired shots inside the home in the 9800 block of South Charles Street, police said in a statement, which noted he was experiencing “mental distress.”
The boy stepped on a porch and pointed a gun at the responding officers and at his own head, Deputy Chief Migdalia Bulnes told reporters near the scene. He then fired a single gunshot, sending officers ducking for cover.
Officers tried to de-escalate the situation by firing bean bag rounds at the home without striking the boy, but “it was too quick for them to bring a negotiator out,” Bulnes said. After going back inside and then returning to the porch, the boy pointed the gun at his head again.
Officers ultimately fired a chemical at the porch, scaring the boy, Bulnes said. He threw the gun and was then detained without incident.
Bulnes said the gun was unsecured in the home, and investigators were trying to determine how he got ahold of it. A law enforcement source said he found it in his mother’s purse.
The deputy chief said she was “impressed” by the police response.
Local
“It really puts your training into perspective,” she said. “It’s a little bit more delicate because he’s 10 years old and he’s in distress. And we know that. He’s a child, so that’s what’s in our mind when we have discussions of what’s the next step.”
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
