A 3-year-old boy who apparently found a loaded gun was shot to death in his father’s home in Stickney Wednesday in what authorities say was a tragic accident.
A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner identified the boy as Thomas Paine.
He was pronounced dead at 12:53 p.m. in MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
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A woman called 911 about 10:35 a.m. and said she had found Thomas shot in the head in the living room of a home in the 4100 block of Home Avenue, said Stickney Deputy Police Chief Carl Jozefik. The woman told police the boy had found a loaded gun, and Jozefik said a 9 mm automatic was found in the home.
Police are investigating how the child got the gun and how it fired, but said they do not suspect foul play.
“This has been a very, very tragic incident,” Jozefik said. “So far, we are considering this an accident.”
The woman who called police was a friend of the family, and she and the boy’s father were at home at the time of the shooting, Jozefik said. The gun was legally owned but did not have a lock, he said. He could not confirm who owned it.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified Wednesday afternoon, and a spokeswoman said the department is investigating.
DCFS has had no previous contact with the family, and there are no other children in the home, said spokeswoman Diane Jackson.
Illinois State Police were assisting Stickney police in the investigation as officers spent the afternoon collecting evidence at the beige brick ranch-style home.
Neighbors said the father was divorced and lived alone. They described Thomas as a cute, short-haired blond boy who went by the nickname “T.J.”
The boy and his father were very close and often played catch together outside, neighbors said.
“That’s the biggest thing. He’s really close with his son. He took time to spend with his son,” neighbor Mari Zimmerman said.
Thomas liked to play in his toy Hummer, similar to his father’s vehicle, she said.
“He was a little version of him,” she said.
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