It happened just a little before 1 p.m. Police said they have talked to the mother of this child and that she was home with her 3-year-old son when that gunshot went off.
The mother said she heard it as she was in the kitchen of the small house. Her son was apparently in the living room. The house is located in 1100-block of E. Cass Street in Joliet.
The boy's mother said she heard the shot and ran into the living room. She saw her son bleeding from the head. She ran outside and called 911. She was carrying her son. She ended up driving him just a few blocks away to Silver Cross Hospital even as police and paramedics were arriving at the home. Doctors took a look at him and tried to do what they could. But he was pronounced dead a short time later.
"All I heard was, 'My baby, my baby, my baby,' and that's all I heard. And when I came out and asked her if she wanted me to call 911, she said she is already talking to them," said Blair Flatten, neighbor.
The mother has told police that she was completely unaware that there was a gun inside the home. In fact, police have tracked the gun. It was a ..45 caliber handgun. They say it was stolen.
