A 12-year-old child was shot while riding his bicycle in Zion Friday evening in what police said was “not a random or accidental shooting”.
The Zion Police Department said in a statement that police officers responded to multiple reports of gunshots fired in the 2200 block of Hebron Avenue in Zion at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Police officers arrived and found a 12-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Authorities said that the victim was conscious and talking with police officers.
“Officers applied pressure to his wound until the Zion Fire Rescue Department arrived,” the Zion Police Department said in a statement. The victim was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with serious but non-life threatening injuries. He is currently listed in stable condition, officials said.
According to the Zion Police Department, the 12-year-old, who is a resident of Zion, was riding his bicycle when he was shot. Police said that this shooting was not random or accidental and that the boy was targeted, in what authorities called a “horrendous crime”.
“There is not believed to be any threat to the general public as preliminary information indicates this was not random or accidental,” the Zion Police Department said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Zion Police Department at 847-746-4110.