WILLOWBROOK : Boy, 3, Wounds His Mother With Father’s Assault Rifle
A 3-year-old Willowbrook boy grabbed the assault rifle in the back seat of his father’s car Thursday and fired the gun, seriously wounding his mother.
Elizar Arzate “has a toy assault rifle he plays with that is very similar to his father’s real one,” said Angie McLaughlin, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
The shooting occurred about 10:40 a.m. in the 2100 block of East Shauer Street, she said.
Elizar Reyes, 29, had loaded his gun and put it in the back seat of his car. He put his son and daughter in the back of the car and was talking with his wife when the boy fired the weapon. The bullet went through the car door and hit Elvira Arzate, 30, in the arm. She was in serious condition at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.
Reyes, booked on suspicion of storing a weapon accessible to children, was held on $15,000 bail.
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