CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Police are searching for a vehicle in connection with a shooting that critically injured a 5-year-old boy Monday night on the Far South Side.
According to police, occupants of the vehicle are suspected of shooting into a residence Monday night on the 200 block of West 115th Street, striking a 5-year-old child in the head.
Meanwhile, community organizers are offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter who left the boy in critical condition.
The boy was playing with an iPad on a couch at about 7:30 p.m. inside a home in the 200 block of West 115th Street when a vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots towards the residence, Chicago Police Cmdr. Glenn White told reporters at a news conference at the scene.
The boy was rushed from the home and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was in critical condition, police said.
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“This is another random act of violence here in the city of Chicago involving one of the youthful citizens of Chicago who is 5-years old who was innocently playing inside this residence on his iPad,” White added. “Our hearts and our prayers go out to the parents.”
Community activist Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef has organized a $500 reward leading to the arrest of the shooter, and is asking people to contribute to increase that reward.
“This is the same situation,” Yosef said, recalling Amaria Jones, a 13-year-old girl of killed by a stray bullet in June while she danced in the living room of her family’s Austin home.
“He was in a home — just as Amaria was,” Yosef said. “We’re trying to show this is a real problem — children being murdered in gun violence.”
Yosef hasn’t spoken with the 5-year-old’s family, but has been pressuring public officials to allocate more money to anti-violence programs.
“I’m sick and tired, as a father, seeing families go through this. But now we have the reality of children being murdered at young ages,” he said. “Another 5-year-old is fighting for his life because politicians aren’t making the right decisions and addressing these disparities.”
Police ask anyone with information to contact Area Two Detectives at (312) 747- 8271. Those who wish to stay anonymous can submit tips to CPDTIP.COM.