Teen Suspected Of Having Seizure Was Shot
UPDATED 11/17/10 5:57 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - A 14-year-old boy who collapsed and died at his Princeton Park neighborhood home Tuesday night was thought to be having a seizure, but it turned out he had been shot.
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Jalil Muhammad was shot at his home, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Paramedics responded around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday after the boy fell at the table, in his home in the 200 block of West 93rd Place, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said. But it turned out the boy had a gunshot wound behind his ear.
The injuries initially looked like those suffered when a person hits their head.
The shooting happened inside the boy's home, while his brother and parents were also home, Calumet Area police Sgt. Frank Luera said early Wednesday. It remained unclear how it occurred, according to Luera, who said they are speaking with the family.
"We are speaking to everyone who was at the scene. It's a tragic thing,'' Luera said.
The death is non-criminal, according to police News Affairs. It has not been revealed why.
Paramedics went to the house because the boy was initially reported to have had a seizure, Gresham District police Captain Juan Morado said.
An ambulance took the boy to University of Chicago Comer's Children's Hospital, Langford said. Muhammad was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:05 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office spokeswoman.
A doctor at the hospital found the bullet wound, alerting police to go to the home, Morado said.
Neighbor Cassandra Emery was at home watching "Dancing with the Stars" and washing dishes when she saw lights on the ambulance come nearby, which she thought was unusual but figured it was for one of her elderly neighbors, she said.
When she went outside, she saw the boy's mom watching paramedics put the boy on the stretcher into the ambulance. The mom told Emery that she and the boy were sitting at a table when he fell over and hit his head, according to Emery, who is in her 50s.
Emery said the boy has suffered seizures before and she did not hear any gunshots so she was shocked to hear from detectives that the boy was fatally shot.
"I didn't hear any gunshots, that's what shocked me," according to Emery, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years and said they have not seen anything like this in the past.
The boy lived with his mom, dad and his 10-year-old brother and 11-year-old sister and the family has lived in the 2-story apartment in that cul-de-sac for six years, Emery said.
The boy just started high school and she regularly saw him board a bus to go to school. On the weekends, he would offer to help her with her groceries, Emery said.
"He's a really happy kid. He always wants to hug you. He's happy-go-lucky," Emery said. "I can't believe this."
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
