- A 16-year-old boy was critically wounded this afternoon on the South Side when a handgun accidentally fired and the bullet struck him, police said.
The teen was wounded about 3:50 p.m. in the 0-100 block of West 71st Street, according to a news release from Chicago police.
The boy was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in critical condition for a gunshot wound to the lower left abdomen.
Police didn't say whether the teen was handling the weapon when it fired. Wentworth Area detectives were investigating the shooting.
Guns are fairly simple machines that require very specific steps to place them into a position that enables them to be fired. An ignorant person or persons mishandling a weapon that results in the gun functioning as designed is not an accident. We've met children as young as seven who are more capable and qualified to handle firearms than certain adults in their forties. We've even raised a few.