A 14-year-old has been arrested and charged after another juvenile was shot in the chest and dropped off in the parking lot of the North Chicago Police Department.
The North Chicago Police Department and North Chicago Fire Department responded around 5:14 p.m. Thursday to the 1400 block of Mulberry Boulevard for a report of a shooting.
Witnesses reported hearing four or five gunshots and seeing a group of males fleeing the area, according to North Chicago Police Department Management Analyst Freddrick Diez.
A gunshot wound victim was soon after discovered in the parking lot of the North Chicago Police Department, 1850 North Lewis Avenue.
It was learned that the initial report of a person shot on Mulberry Boulevard was the same victim who showed up at the police department.
Diez said officers found the 17-year-old victim on the ground with a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest. He had been driven to the police station by someone else.
Officers administered lifesaving procedures and the boy was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
His injuries were not life-threatening and his condition was stabilized, Diez said.
A heavy police presence was seen at the original shooting scene on Mulberry Boulevard during the investigation.
Investigators later recovered three firearms within a residence in the 2700 block of Spruce Avenue in North Chicago.
Those included three 9mm handguns, two of which were Glocks and the third was a ghost gun, Diez said.
All three guns were equipped with a “switch,” which is a small and cheap device that can modify a pistol into an automatic weapon.
A 14-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the shooting. He was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated battery causing bodily harm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
“This is still an active and ongoing investigation, but we believe this to be an isolated incident, and there is no continuing danger to the public,” Diez said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the North Chicago Police Department at 847-596-8742 or submit evidence to the department’s online portal.