Police: Joliet Father Shoots 12-Year-Old Son
UPDATED 12/21/10 1:31 p.m.
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) - A 12-year-old boy is barely alive after allegedly being shot by his father in Joliet overnight.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the boy, identified as Ovaday Tademy, was fighting for his life at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, after police say his father shot him in the head.
The father, Roderick Tademy, 35, is now charged with aggravated battery.
The shooting happened in a home in the 1200 block of Cutter Avenue in Joliet, to which police were called just after 5:30 p.m. Monday.
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The boy's mother, Antoinetta Tademy, told responding officers that the boy had been shot in the head by her husband. Ovaday was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet "grave condition," but later had to be transferred to Loyola due to the extent of his injuries.
Antoinetta Tademy took the .22-caliber handgun from her husband after the shooting.
Ovaday is a seventh grader at Hufford Junior High school in Joliet.
Neighbors who didn't want to go on camera said they didn't see Ovaday out of the house too often. They also had little to say about his father, the suspect in the case.
"The father of the 12-year-old son was discovered in the rear of the residence by police officers on the scene. He was taken into custody without incident," said Joliet police Chief Fred Hayes. "According to the mother, the father and the son had some type or argument, when the father suddenly took out a handgun and shot the 12-year-old boy in then head."
Police, armed with a search warrant, returned to the apartment a short time later and recovered three other weapons -- an AK47, a Tech-9 semi-automatic and a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
Roderick and Antoinetta Tademy's twin 6-year-old daughters were also in the apartment, and Hayes indicated that they may have seen the shooting. They are now in the custody of child welfare officials and receiving counseling.
Ovaday's mother apparently stepped in to stop the feud between the boy and his father, and also tried to resuscitate her son after he was shot, authorities said.
Hayes said more serious charges against Roderick Tademy could be approved by prosecutors once interviews are complete.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli and WBBM Newsradio 780's Bob Roberts contributed to this report.
