CLEVELAND — Police have released more details regarding an incident that saw a 4-year-old boy shot multiple times in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
According to officials, the child's 15-year-old brother was the shooter. The victim's name has not been released, and 3News is not identifying the suspect at this time since he is a juvenile who has not been charged as an adult.
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Officers were first called to Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights just after 4 p.m. Sunday after the boy's mother brought him in with multiple gunshot wounds. The woman initially told law enforcement her son had been the victim of a drive-by shooting outside her parents' house on East 117th Street, and officials subsequently found blood and a spent shell casing in the backseat of her car.
However, following further investigation, the woman admitted to authorities that her initial story was not true, and that her child had actually been shot by her older teen son on Craven Avenue. While police have not specified what might have led up to the shooting, the woman claimed she had been delivering food to the address when the incident occurred in the front yard, and that a teen friend of the boys alerted her of the situation.
The woman took her older son to her parents' home before rushing the 4-year-old to the hospital, and while the boys' grandmother initially told officers he was not there it was eventually discovered that he was hiding in the attic. After receiving consent from the home's owner, authorities went to the attic and arrested the teen "without incident," later writing that they found a 9mm handgun in the backyard.
According to a written report, the 4-year-old victim was shot three times in the right forearm, right thigh, and stomach. He suffered a broken arm and underwent surgery to have part of his stomach removed, but is currently in stable condition.
The teen suspect was taken to UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital for a psychological evaluation. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office is expected to take over his case upon his release.
The incident, which was one of 12 shootings that saw two people killed and 11 others hurt over the weekend in Cleveland, is currently under further investigation.
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