8-year-old boy dead, 5-year-old boy hurt by gunshots in neighborhood

    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) -- An 8-year-old boy is dead, and a 5-year-old boy was wounded, when they both suffered gunshots in a home in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side late Thursday.

The gunfire went off at 5:22 p.m. on 71st Place off Blackstone Avenue. Soon afterward, just before the sunset, a 911 call brought the Chicago fire and police departments to the block.

Officers stood on the front porch of a house on the block, where two boys — ages 8 and 5 — were shot.

"Just devastating to get that news, right?" said neighbor Aaron Franklin. "And then, you know, how do you handle that?"

The investigation revealed a bullet hit the 8-year-old, in his head. The boy was taken to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital, and he did not survive.

The emotional cries were audible on dispatch audio as an ambulance was called.

The youngest boy was grazed by a bullet — also in the head. He was taken to Comer in good condition.

"Just concerned about the family in general, so concerned about the kids that were in the house," said Franklin.

CBS News Chicago is told that additional children, possibly siblings, witnessed the shooting. Also home at the time was a man whom Chicago Police took into custody after detectives found the gun on scene.

It was not clear where the children were when the gun went off.

"Unfortunately in Chicago, I think a lot of people arm themselves — have weapons in their homes to protect themselves — and you know, unfortunately, maybe one of children got a hold of this weapon," Franklin said.

Activist and pastor Donovan Price echoed neighbors' cry to lock up guns.

"It seems like an easy solve," he said, "but unfortunately no matter the situation is, it seems to keep happening."

Price came to the emergency room at Comer to console the family, including the children's mother, who was not home at the time.

He pointed out that often, people may have and carry guns to protect their loved ones — but the guns can end up having the opposite effect.

"It causes a level of tragedy that you couldn't imagine," Price said.

As the 5-year-old continued to recover in good condition late Wednesday, part of Wentworth Area detectives' investigation is to try to determine who owned the gun, where it came from, and ultimately, who fired the shot or shots.