Oak Park

‘Lucky That I Lived:' Teen Struck in Head by Stray Bullet July 4 in River Forest

The River Forest Police Department said it believes the bullet traveled a great distance from outside the village prior to falling out of the sky.

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A suburban Oak Park teen says he's lucky to be alive after he was hit in the head by a bullet that, according to police, fell from the sky on July 4 in River Forest.

Vincent Solari, 16, said he was hanging out with friends in River Forest that night when he felt something hit him.

“I didn’t know what it was at first,” the teenager said.

Doctors later removed a 9-millimeter bullet from his head.

“It only went below the flesh and chipped a bit of my skull, but besides that it didn’t get into my brain,” Solari said. “It didn’t do much damage.”

It is unclear if the bullet came from someone firing a gun into the air to celebrate the holiday. However, River Forest police said the department believes the bullet traveled a great distance from outside the village prior to falling out of the sky.

“I was just unlucky I got hit by it,” the teenager said.  “But I’m lucky that I lived.”

Police said they were working with detectives in bordering communities to develop leads. The bullet will be analyzed by the Illinois State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a news release stated.

The community has not seen a rise in criminal activities using gun violence, the press release added.

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