3-year-old boy killed after being shot in head in road rage incident in West Lawn
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 3-year-old boy was shot while riding in the back seat of a vehicle in the West Lawn community Friday night.
Police said at 8:38 p.m., a woman was driving near Marquette Road and Kostner Avenue in her 2012 white sport-utility vehicle when a red sedan pulled up and a man in the back seat fired shots.
The woman's 3-year-old son was shot in the head and was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious condition and was later pronounced dead, police said.
Police are calling this a road rage incident. Neighbors are calling it devastating.
"I just got panicked and hit the ground," said Roger Ramirez, who lives a few doors down from where the shooting happened.
Around 8:30 Friday night one of the bullets shot through his window.
"It came directly through my window and when I was closing the blinds, that's when I heard the impact and I just panicked," he said.
By the time he went outside about 24 hours later, he saw glass shattered all over the floor along Kenneth and Marquette. It was left behind by a mother trying to flee to save her son's life.
The white SUV was seen stopped and empty near 66th Place and Pulaski Road, where crime scene tape was set up.
Mateo Zastro was three years old.
His three siblings were in the SUV when this happened, but none were injured.
Mateo loved dinosaurs.
"That mother is still grieving that," said community advocate Andrew Holmes. "All she's doing is clutching onto two dinosaurs, and this was the baby's favorite toy, the dinosaurs."
This is the second toddler in less than a month to die after being shot in the back seat of a parent's car.
The wounds in the community get deepers. Crisis intervention teams come out in force.
"We're rying to do our best to prevent these things, but unfortunately that's the world we live in. These thing happen, but we don't like seeing it," said Calvin Brown, assistant program manager of Communities Partnering for Peace.
CP4P was knocking on doors to try to see if anyone needs resources like mental health services.
No one was in custody Saturday, but there is a reward of $7,000 for information that could help police catch the person responsible.
Police belive the shooter fled in a red Mustang.
Area One detectives are investigating.
