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Toddler shot in head in possible road-rage incident in Chicago

‘We are doing all we can do for this little boy,’ doctor says

Louise Hall
Wednesday 07 April 2021 10:39 EDT
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Toddler shot in head in possible road-rage incident in Chicago

A toddler in Chicago has been left in critical care after being shot in the head in an apparent “road rage incident”, authorities have said.

Chicago police commander Jake Alderden said in a press conference that the shooting took place at 11am on Tuesday when an incident “escalated into shots being fired for approximately two blocks”.

The two-year-old suffered a bullet wound to his head and was left hospitalised during the shooting. Family members have since said that the toddler’s condition has improved but that he is not completely out of danger, NBC 5 reported.

"We are doing all we can do for this little boy and thank everyone for their concern," Dr Marcelo Malakooti, hospital associate chief medical officer and medical director of the paediatric intensive care unit, told NBC News on Tuesday.

Police believe that a disagreement between two drivers may have led to the shooting. NBC 5 reported that an individual in a black Chevrolet vehicle allegedly began firing shots at the Dodge Charger in which the toddler was sat.

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The Dodge Charger subsequently crashed, and a good Samaritan stopped to help and the boy and another occupant to a hospital, Mr Alderden said.

He said it was not clear what triggered the incident but that there may have been a “traffic dispute” before the shooting ensued.

“At this time, it appears they’re completely unknown to each other, and there was a dispute possibly over somebody, you know, not letting somebody into a lane of traffic,” he said.

Police said that a handgun was recovered from the vehicle that the child was in, but it’s not clear if it was fired in the shooting.

NBC News said that police said that a person of interest was being questioned, but no arrests have been announced.

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