6year old boy accidentally shoots & kills his 3 year old brother while playing cops & robbers

Michael Santiago was charged with child endangerment after his 3-year-old son was shot in the head by his 6-year-old brother while they were playing together Saturday, police said.

The boy, whom authorities identified as Eian Santiago, was at a residence about 9:05 p.m. in the 1000 block of North Francisco Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side when his 6-year-old brother got hold of a revolver and shot him in the head.

According to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, the two had been playing “cops and robbers” when the 6-year-old saw the handgun atop a refrigerator, took it and fired it in the direction of his brother. Guglielmi could not further describe the weapon other than saying it was a handgun.

The boys’ father, 25-year-old Michael Santiago, was charged with felony child endangerment in connection with the shooting. He kept a loaded gun on top of a refrigerator, according to police. He is expected to appear in bond court Sunday.

Guglielmi said that Michael Santiago told police he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang and that he had purchased the gun from another gang member for protection. Guglielmi said police are in the process of tracing the weapon.

After the shooting, the boy’s family members took him to Norwegian American Hospital. He later was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where family members gathered as word of the shooting spread.

By 11:20 p.m., about two dozen people were waiting in the cold, including a young woman who had been wailing almost nonstop for a half-hour.

“Why can’t I go in?” she asked someone inside, sobbing.

A few minutes later, she screamed in the same direction.

“What do you mean, he’s dead?” she screamed. “What do you mean, we can’t go in?”

“No, no, no, no,” said one man as he walked up to the hospital. He came to the wall and sank into a crouch.

“Oh, God, why?” he said, his voice ragged.

In other shootings:

About 2 a.m., a man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting in the Rosemoor neighborhood, said Officer Hector Alfaro, a Chicago police spokesman.

They were pulling away from a curb in a vehicle in the 10600 block of South Prairie Avenue when people approached and fired shots.

The driver, a 22-year-old man, was shot in the upper back and pronounced dead on the scene. A 19-year-old man was shot in the knee and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. His condition was stabilized.

At 10:10 p.m., a 37-year-old man was shot in the West Chatham neighborhood, Alfaro said.

He was discovered on the sidewalk in the 7900 block of South Lafayette Avenue with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.

At 9:15 p.m., a 36-year-old man was shot in the Cragin neighborhood, Alfaro said.

He was in the 5500 block of West Altgeld Street when he was shot in the calf. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition. No information was available about the man’s exact age or the circumstances of the shooting.

About 9 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the Washington Park neighborhood, police said.

He was in a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection in the 5300 block of South Michigan Avenue when a car pulled up alongside and someone inside began shooting, Alfaro said. He was hit in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital. His condition was stabilized.

About 8:45 p.m., a 26-year-old man was shot in the Fifth City neighborhood on the West Side, Alfaro said.

He was in the 0-100 block of South Homan Avenue when he was robbed and shot in the leg, Alfaro said. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital, and his condition was stabilized.

Police initially said the person was a juvenile who had been shot in the 3300 block of West Monroe Street.

At 8:40 p.m., a 35-year-old man was shot in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Alfaro said.

He was in a parked car in the 6100 block of South Ellis Avenue when another car pulled up alongside and someone inside fired shots. The man was shot in the head and taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. A law enforcement source said the man was conscious and talking.

Police initially said the shooting happened in the 6400 block of South Ellis Avenue.

About 2:30 p.m., a 40-year-old man was shot in the Scottsdale neighborhood, police said.

He was in the 8500 block of South Pulaski Road when he was shot in the hip. He drove himself to Advocate Christ Medical Center, and his condition was stabilized.