CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — After a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg in south suburban Dolton Saturday, a village representative spoke out on gun violence.
Police in Dalton are still investigating how the child obtained the gun. News of the shooting comes as Chicago experiences a dangerous year for gun violence against minors.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month that children are dying from firearms at a rate three times higher than last year.
Dolton spokesperson Sean Howard spoke with WBBM Newsradio about the incident.
"But here we are talking about yet again. One of the 4.6 million households in America where there's a child living and there's an unsafe loaded weapon," Howard said.
According to Nationwide Children's Hospital, nearly 1,300 children die from guns every year in America with many more seriously injured.
The boy in Dolton is expected to survive his injuries.
