

Posted: 12/3/2007 1:28:50 PM EDT
CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. - A 4-year-old girl fatally shot at her home Sunday morning was the daughter of a Cook County Jail correctional officer. She allegedly was shot by her 15-year-old brother while their mother was at work. Chicago Heights police received a call at 5:42 a.m. of a shooting victim in a Chicago Heights apartment, according to a release from the Chicago Heights Police Department.
Officers found the victim, a 4-year-old girl, laying face down on the landing between the first and second floors, the release said. Jalynn Hall was pronounced dead at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights at 5:55 a.m. Sunday. The girl died from an apparent gunshot at her home address, according to a spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner?s office. Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim and her 15-year-old brother were home alone while their mother was working. They were handling a gun, which was kept in the apartment, when the gun went off, striking the girl once in the chest, the release said. Chicago Heights police are investigating the criminal case, and Cook County Sheriff?s police are handling an internal investigation into the tragic incident, according to Sheriff?s police spokeswoman Penny Mateck. The officer, Jalynn?s mother, was at work when the shooting happened early Sunday, Mateck said. "The victim is the daughter of a correctional officer at Cook County Jail," Mateck said. "She was allegedly shot by another sibling, who is also a juvenile." The officer will be de-deputized Sunday, pending an internal investigation into the incident, which is standard procedure, Mateck said. DCFS is investigating the death but have had no prior contact with the family, spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said. Copyright 2007, Chicago Sun-Times Inc. |
|
This is sad and my BS sense is tingling...WTF are they doing playing with guns at 5am?
|
|
The gun didnt go off by itself, the trigger was pulled.
Sad to see stuff like this, especially when it is family. If its pure accident, that will be hard to deal with for a while. |
|
I never want to hear the phrase "the gun went off" again. The 15 year old brother was old enough to know better....
RIP |
|
Poor little girl.
![]() I agree, something about this is all wrong. A. what 15 year old is up at 5 in the morning. B. Why wasn't the firearms locked up and unloaded. |
|
Unsecured firearms around children is not a good idea, you would think a correctional officer would know this.
|
|
Remember the kids left home alone thread with 6-10 year olds being left at home alone? This is a reason we do not leave kids unsupervised. Never know what could happen. Apparently this was a very immature 15 year old for him to be screwing around with a gun.
![]() |
|
I can't stand the way liberal Antis spin this shit.
"They were handleing the gun and it went off" as if the evil gun waited for the right time to kill someone. The gun was pointed at her and the trigger was pulled. Sad. ![]() |
|
![]()
+1, and I don't care how many loaded guns were left lying around when you were growing up (the inevitable posts to come). ![]() Tragic. ![]() |
|
|
You see what happens when you don't teach kids proper gun handling! Yes the gun should have been locked up but they also should not have been playing with it.
Poor girl will never grow up now because nobody bothered to teach them how. |
|
![]()
1)15 year olds know how to steal a safe combo, watch a key being placed in a secret location, or simply unlock anything...its all on the web. 2)15 year olds know what guns do. 3)No one accidently pulls a trigger. They either pull the trigger thinking the gun is unloaded which causes an accidental discharge or the have some object resting on the trigger and by moving the object or weapon pull the trigger again causing an accidential discharge. The 15 year old shot the 4 year old thinking the gun was either unloaded, or would not go off. He woke up and was getting ready for school. He wanted to bring the gun to school or just "play" with it. His sister wanted to see the gun, they fought..I'm going to tell mommy......[you fill in the blanks] |
|
|
A 15 Y.O. is hardly a child. When my first son was 11 he exhibited COMPLETE gun safety. If a 15 Y.O. is involved it was because the kid was deficient in safe firearms handling instruction or a serious dumbass.
|
|
Sad situation. The firearm should have been loked in a case or rendered inoperable. Why was it not?
|
|
![]()
There was no accidental discharge. There was a negligent discharge. 15 years old is old enough that this shouldn't have happened. |
||
|
![]()
fixed it. very sad. ![]() |
|
|
![]()
Most 15YOs are deficient in safe firearms handling instruction, especially with handguns and especially in large cities (this sad event was in Chicago). Your son is the exception (as I certainly hope mine will be), not the rule this day and age. Absent the training, experience, and level of responsibility your son exhibits (no indication either way here, but the odds are against it), the firearm should have been secured. I've reviewed dozens of cases like this over the years and spoken to several of the parents -- every one, without exception, regretted not storing the firearms more securely and almost all had been completely sure that their child knew better/it couldn't happen to them. ![]() I don't ever want to know that kind of regret... |
|
|
I don't know. 15 is pretty old. When I was 15 I knew where the guns and ammo was. Parents taught us to treat guns with respect and that they were not toys. Without more info I'd have to say that the blame must be put on the 15 year old. No information that the guns were being stored in an unsafe manner.
|
|
Some 15 year olds are simply irresponsible. A libtard co-worker admits to playing around with a loaded .22 and shooting it through the wall in his house when he was about 15 or 16. He admits that he knew a bullet was in the chamber but though it was a dud.
![]() This is why firearms need to be secured when an adult isn't around to supervise. |
|
![]()
1. My oldest child at home is 14 and there is no way for him to open my gunsafe short of taking safe-cracking classes. 2. Yes 15 year olds know what guns do, but many of them do not know how to properly operate one or how to tell if one is really loaded or not, many have this stupid belief that if the magazine is removed then it is unloaded, but they forget about the one in the chamber. I educate my children to know better than that, clearly this 15 year old in question had not been trained properly, another fault on the correctional officer here that might have stopped this tragedy from happening. 3. I'm sure the 15 year old here thought the gun was unloaded, a fatal error caused by his ignorance of firearms, parents should have taught him fiream safety by that age, real firearm safety - not just "don't touch my gun". Horrible tragedy that could have been averted by properly securing firearms and teaching older children about the guns in the house. |
||
|
![]()
What's wrong with this is, the FATHER screwed up! He failed to teach his 15-year-old about guns, and how dangerous they are when mishandled. He failed to impress on his son the dire consequences of getting caught playing with his guns. He failed to lock the gun in a responsible manner. In fact, I could make a case for prosecuting the FATHER, for reckless endangerment of minors! There were guns in my house when I was growing up. I knew exactly where they were in my father's bedroom closet, and knew that if I got caught playing with them, it would cost me some hide. |
|
|
![]()
I disagree. If the kid had found drano I don't think anyone would be thinking of calling the cops. Lots of dangerous things in a house, and guns are just one of them. We don't know if the kid was a perpetual dumbass (in which case the guns should be locked up), or if he had not yet given indications of dumbassness. When I was 15 I knew where a gun and ammo was with no lock and key. I'd hate to think that people would have called for my father's head if I had done something dumbass. 15 is old enough to know not to point a gun at someone. |
|
|
![]()
I don't think there was a father in that house Frank. The Mother is the officer. Sad , and I would like to know what the kids were doing at 5 AM . You would think that a 15 year old would know better. |
||
|
Here we go with the "Blame the parents" replies.
The kid is 15 and has watched enough tv or even just news to know that guns kill people. common sense would say "Don't point guns at people" just like you don't ever stab people with knives because it can kill them. Stupidity happens. I would bet that the gun was hidden and the 15 year old had been told MULTIPLE times to never touch it. Kids in their teens often have major difficulty following simple instructions. [/sarcasm]Hell, lets blame the manufacturers too. Those negligent bastards! [sarcasm] |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2022 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.