A man has been charged with child endangerment in connection to the accidental fatal shooting of an 8-year-old boy earlier this month inside a Garfield Park home.
Authorities say Ramon Sumerlin, 41, left his gun unattended for his 9-year-old son and his 8-year-old nephew to find.
Sumerlin was gone for the night on Aug. 15 and allegedly left the boys in the care of their grandmother.
The 8-year-old boy, Jacari Brown, and his cousin were looking for a TV remote when they found a gun under a mattress in Sumerlin’s bedroom in the 3100 block of West Flournoy Street, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
His cousin tried to take the gun away from Jacari, and that’s when it discharged, striking the boy in the chest, police said.
Four adults, including the boys’ grandmother, were in the home sleeping in their bedrooms when the gun went off, prosecutors said. One of the adults came out of their bedroom and called 9-1-1.
Responding officers took Jacari in their squad car to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After the gun went off, Sumerlin’s son placed it back under the mattress but later told officers what happened and led them to where it was, prosecutors said.
No other injuries were reported, and a weapon was recovered at the scene.
Sumerlin was arrested Monday in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side. He was charged with felony counts of child endangerment and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Bail was set at $10,000, and he will appear again in court Sept. 19.
Contributing: Sophie Sherry, Cindy Hernandez
