Frankfort Teen Fatally Shot While Handling Gun With Friend

FRANKFORT, IL — A 17-year-old boy from Frankfort was fatally shot Sunday night while he and friend were handling a loaded revolver, according to police. The friend — also a 17-year-old boy — was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and was taken to the River Valley Juvenile Detention Facility in Joliet, Frankfort police said in a statement.

According to authorities, Frankfort police and paramedics responded to a call concerning a shooting just before 6:15 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4, in the 19900 block of Lily Court. At the scene, the teen received "life-saving efforts" by the first responders, and he was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Investigators later learned that the victim had been visiting his friend, and the two were handling a .357 revolver with several rounds of live ammunition. The gun discharged, hitting the victim in the chest, police said.

An 18-year-old man at the Lilly Court home called 911 following the shooting. He also began CPR on the victim before police and paramedics arrived, according to authorities.

The victim's name was not being released by Frankfort police because he was a juvenile, said Deputy Chief Kevin Keegan. The circumstances surrounding how the gun went off are still unclear, and that's one of the areas that the active investigation into the shooting hopes to clear up, he added.

In his two decades with the department, Keegan said he hasn't seen an incident like this before in Frankfort.

"There have been suicides I've been a part of, but not something similar to this," he said.

Police did not say how the teens came into possession of the revolver. Several pieces of evidence were collected at the scene, including the gun and ammunition, according to police. Investigators now are waiting on pathology and crime lab reports, and the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force also is helping in the case, police said.

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