7-year-old Roseland boy shot with rifle round when family member confronts person breaking into car
CHICAGO (CBS) – A 7-year-old boy is hospitalized after he was shot in the leg in the Roseland neighborhood Sunday.
According to the Chicago Police Department around 11:21 a.m. near 108th and Wabash, the family was on their way to Universal Community Missionary Church when one of the occupants of their car saw a man breaking into a family member's vehicle. The family member then approached the suspect, who then started shooting before fleeing the scene.
One of the bullets struck the vehicle and 7-year-old Legend Barr was struck in the leg with a rifle round, police said.
"Our son was screaming at us in the back. He was like, 'I got shot! I got shot in the leg!" said his mother, Keshawana Barr.
Family rushed the boy to Roseland Hospital and then he was transferred to Comer Children's Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, according to CPD Deputy Chief Larry Snelling.
Legend's mother said a bullet shattered her son's femur.
"Legend's just in a lot of pain right now, and he's really mentally kind of out of it right now. He keeps having nightmares. He won't let us open doors and windows in here. He's going through a lot," Keshawana Barr said.
After the shooting, officers in the area responded and gave chase to the suspect, who was identified by the occupants in the vehicle and taken into custody, Snelling said. Police were questioning that person Monday afternoon.
No other injuries were reported.
Legend spoke to CBS 2's Marissa Perlman from his hospital bed Monday morning. His mom said he hasn't been able to sleep, and is preparing to undergo surgery to put rods in his legs.
The 7-year-old said he's trying to be brave, but he's angry.
"I had basketball season, but now I can't go to basketball until my leg gets better," he said.
Legend described the moment the gunman opened fire on his family's car.
"I just saw him getting out of our grandma's car, and then he pulled a gun out of his coat pocket," he said. "Then he just pulled the trigger, and then started shooting at the back, at the middle of the car when I was on the left side of the car," he said.
The Barr family said they're grateful Legend will survive his injuries.
"We just keep trying to make him as comfortable as possible, and letting him know that no bad stuff is going to happen anymore, because … it's the worst day of his life," his mother said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Legend's medical expenses.
This shooting is the latest in what has become a horrifying trend of kids shot in the backseat of their parents' cars. In the last month we've seen it happen three times.
This is the second child shot in the city over the weekend. Three-year-old Mateo Zastro was shot while riding in the back seat of a vehicle in the West Lawn community Friday night.
"We've seen children shot across this city in ridiculous numbers," Snelling said. "Please, please, let's start stepping up. Let's start pointing out these people who are out here killing children. Just the blatant disregard for the life of a child tells me what kind of person you are."
This year CBS 2 counts at least five shootings where the child was the one in the car and in the crossfire. Four of those five shootings were fatal.
Police are still looking for most of their assailants.