3-Year-Old Boy Shoots Mother Dead At Chicago Parking Lot, Dad Detained

A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother to death inside a car parked outside a suburban Chicago supermarket, police said.

The child’s father has been detained and will likely face gun charges, Dolton police chief Robert Collins Jr. said Monday, March 14.

The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, police said.

The family of three was waiting in their car outside a Food 4 Less store in Dolton about 20 miles south of Chicago when the child opened fire, according to police.

"He somehow got ahold of the gun and began playing with it in a playful manner, pointed the gun and fired the shot," Collins said.

The 22-year-old mother, Daejah Bennett was shot in the neck, the chief said. She was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her dead.

"This is just such a tragedy," Collins said.

A person who specializes in talking to children interviewed the toddler who confirmed that "he was the one who fired the gun".

"We are confident he fired the gun," Collins said.

The chief said investigators were working with prosecutors from the Cook County State's Attorney's office to determine the exact charges against the child’s father whose name has not been released.

Reports, however, said there was no indication that the man even knew the child was holding the weapon at the time of the shooting.

Collins said the father had license to own the weapon but did not have a concealed carry permit he would have needed to carry it in the vehicle.

"We do not have anything to indicate that the dad fired the weapon so the avenue we are pursuing is that the gun was his responsibility," Collins said, adding that he expected charges would be filed by Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Dolton trustee Andrew Holmes visited the supermarket to hand out gun locks and educate shoppers about the importance of gun safety.

"This could have been prevented," Holmes told ABC affiliate WLS on Sunday.

"All it takes is a second: unlock it, thread it through the barrel, bring it back around, put it in and lock it back," he said. "If you leave it, secure it."