‘A horrible tragedy’ judge says after baby shot by parents struggling over gun

Judge Arthur Wesley Willis noted that the boy’s father had rushed him to a hospital and knew that both parents were both already “suffering because their child was shot.”

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Police investigate the shooting of an infant Jan. 27, 2020, in Uptown.

Police investigate the shooting of an infant Monday in Uptown.

Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Calling the case “a horrible tragedy,” a judge set bail at $10,000 Thursday for the parents of a 23-month-old boy who was shot in the head Monday while they allegedly struggled over a gun during an argument in an Uptown apartment.

In setting the bail for each parent, Judge Arthur Wesley Willis noted that the boy’s father had rushed him to a hospital and said he knew that both parents were already “suffering because their child was shot.”

But Willis admonished 26-year-old Travis McCoy, the boy’s father, for having a gun that he wasn’t legally allowed to possess, and said he found McCoy’s actions after the shooting “extremely confusing.” But, Willis added, “I’m not here to judge how someone reacts.”

McCoy faces a felony count of filing a false police report for allegedly initially lying to authorities about how the child came to be shot. His wife, Adriana Smith, 28, was charged with felony obstruction of justice and destroying evidence. Both parents also face a misdemeanor charge of causing a child’s endangerment.

Cook County prosecutors said the couple was arguing about 7:30 p.m. Monday at their apartment in the 800 block of West Eastwood because Smith had been told she needed to leave her Chicago Housing Authority unit in three weeks.

Travis McCoy

Travis McCoy

Chicago police

McCoy threw Smith’s cellphone through one of the apartment’s windows, and Smith told him she would call the police. She then threw his jean jacket at him, causing a gun to fall out, prosecutors said.

Smith grabbed the handle of the gun and McCoy grabbed the barrel, causing it to go off, and a bullet struck the ceiling of the apartment, prosecutors said. The bullet fractured, with one piece falling to the floor and the other entering the toddler’s temple, prosecutors said.

McCoy grabbed the child and ran to the hospital, which was located blocks away, where he encountered police in the parking lot and said his boy had been shot while he was trying to put him into a car and said he heard five gunshots, prosecutors said.

Smith grabbed the couple’s 7-year-old daughter, who was also home at the time, and cleaned up blood in the hallway before taking her to try and find a phone and call her mother, prosecutors said.

Smith eventually tossed the gun in Clarendon Park, although it has not been recovered, prosecutors said.

Adriana Smith

Adriana Smith

Chicago police

Emily Bock, an assistant public defender for the couple, said the couple was faced with “unimaginable panic” after their son was shot and that both eventually assisted authorities.

Smith, Bock said, is credits shy from graduating from Truman College and had already been accepted into nursing programs at two universities in the city. She is also a volunteer fostering cats. McCoy has been working as a dishwasher for the past year, she said.

Bock said the couple was married and they lived together at the apartment. Prosecutors, however, contended that McCoy was not allowed to live at the apartment, and said he resided elsewhere.

In court Thursday, Smith sat in a chair for the hearing, sometimes sobbing with her head bowed and McCoy stood before the judge looking down and cried at times.

McCoy is not allowed to possess a gun due to a felony conviction when he was 17 in North Carolina for assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury, prosecutors said, who could not provide additional information. Smith has no criminal background.

Prosecutors said the child was expected to be released from the hospital Thursday, but will be taken into the custody of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, along with his sister until further court order. Bock said Smith had spoken with the boy at the hospital and that he was walking again.

Willis said neither parent would be allowed to talk to their children until the child welfare agency makes a further determination and ordered both onto electronic monitoring if they post bond.

Their next court date was set for Feb. 6.

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