Boy, 6, killed in apparent accidental shooting in Villa Park

VILLA PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- A 6-year-old boy was killed in an apparent accidental shooting in the western suburbs just months after his mother was killed in a shooting on a Chicago expressway.

Michael Cattron had been living in unincorporated Villa Park since his mother was shot to death in the city's Englewood neighborhood last summer. He had reportedly been watching cartoons Friday night when he somehow came in contact with a gun in the basement. It is unclear whether he or one of the other children in the room fired the weapon, but police say the shooting appears to have been accidental.

"Michael went into a room, went through some boxes, found a gun and shot himself in the head. Now he's dead," said Michael's grandmother, Latonia Mardis.

Police were called to the home moments after Michael's father discovered his son lying near a pool of blood.

Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead a little after midnight.

The DuPage County Sheriff released a statement saying only that "...the incident is still under investigation."

Michael was staying with his father since July when his mother, Jasmine Curry, was shot to death as she drove her van on the Dan Ryan Expressway early in the morning. She was pregnant at the time.

Relatives say an uncle was also shot to death a year and a half ago. It's been an overwhelming difficult time for the family.

"It's too much death in the famiy," Mardis said. Killing, it's just terrible out here, and now you're going to tell me a 6-year-old killed himself, I ain't never going to believe that."

Michael's father was reportedly home at the time of the shooting. Police have not said who the gun that was used belonged to.