Fatal shooting of 12-year-old girl in Hazel Crest was accidental, no charges to be filed, police chief sayson May 11, 2021 at 5:34 pm

The fatal shooting of a 12-year-old girl in Hazel Crest over the weekend was a “tragic accident” and no charges will be filed, the south suburban police department said Tuesday.

The department said Erica Gibson was shot by another juvenile, but it released few other new details.

Hazel Crest police officers responded to a call of a reported gunshot victim in the 17600 block of Arlington Lane in Hazel Crest around 10 p.m. Saturday, Police Chief Mitchell Davis said in a statement.

Erica, who was from the Gresham neighborhood in Chicago, had been shot in the head and was taken to South Suburban Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:53 p.m., police said.

An autopsy ruled her death a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said. But the police department’s investigation and a legal review by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office determined no criminal charges will be filed against the juvenile involved, Davis said.

“At this time, the investigation shows this to be another case of young people having access to an unsecured weapon in a home that had a tragic ending,” Davis said.

This is at least the second accidental shooting by a minor in the last week.

A 12-year-old boy was critically wounded Thursday night on the South Side when he was accidentally shot by another child.

The boy was hit in the chest inside a home in the 3500 block of South Rhodes shortly before 7 p.m., Chicago police said. He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, according to police and fire officials.

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