The young boy was taken to the hospital on November 25 with a gunshot to his abdomen after family members indicated the boy was shot inside a residence in the 300-block of Forest Boulevard, police said.
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It was a seemingly silent shot, according to neighbors.
The boy was immediately airlifted to Comer's Children's Hospital to undergo surgery and was stabilized.
Devin K. Galloway, 32, of Matteson, identified himself as the boy's father the night of the shooting, police said.
When police returned to where the family said the shot was fired, which was allegedly at a home at the Pangea Park Townhomes, officers encountered 32-year-old Shaun D. Brown, of Park Forest, who had apparently returned to the location, officials said.
Brown provided a similar story about the incident as Galloway, however, police said Brown then began to physically obstruct officers' investigations and was ultimately arrested.
Brown was charged on November 26 with felony obstruction of justice and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer. Galloway was taken into custody Thursday and charged Friday with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
During the course of the investigation, police learned that Galloway was not the father of the child as previously reported, but was his caretaker at the time of the shooting, officials said.
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Detectives also learned that the shooting actually occurred inside a residence in the 100-block of Hemlock Street in Park Forest and that the child was taken to the Forest Blvd. address prior to being taken to the hospital.
Police said Galloway, with the assistance of Brown, went to great lengths to conceal the location and circumstances of the shooting.
The child has since been discharged from the hospital, police said.
The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force assisted in the investigation.
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