Boy, 2, dead of child abuse in Washington Park; 2 in custody

Two people were arrested after a 2-year-old boy died of child abuse injuries Monday morning in Washington Park on the South Side.

Ja’hir Gibbons suffered multiple injuries inside a home in the 6000 block of South Prairie Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m. Monday.

His death was ruled a homicide on Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office said.

Chicago police did not immediately provide further details about his death but said two persons of interest have been taken into custody. Charges are pending.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Service is “conducting a full investigating of this death to understand how and why this occurred,” agency spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said in a statement.

DCFS has a history of previous contact with the family that dates back to 2010. The previous involvement concerned allegations of abuse and neglect related to the young boy’s siblings, DCFS said.

Starting in October, the agency began investigating an abuse allegation involving Gibbons and his mother, DCFS said.

The agency then provided a variety of services to the family, including home visits, individual therapy sessions for the mother and speech and developmental therapy for Gibbons, DCFS said. The most recent visit happened Saturday, when an agency contracted by DCFS reported that Gibbons and his siblings were safe.

“The death of Jahir Gibbons is an unacceptable loss and all of us at DCFS are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” DCFS said.