GoFundMe For Joliet Boy, 2, Who Died Of Gunshot Wound

JOLIET, IL — A GoFundMe has been established in hopes of raising $15,000 to pay for the funeral expenses of Angelo, the 2-year-old boy who police say fatally shot himself inside his family's house in the 200 block of Eastern Avenue. Joliet police held a news conference later on Wednesday afternoon and told reporters that the little boy's death was being investigated as an accidental gun discharge.

Angelo and his father were the only people home at the time. When Angelo's father went into the kitchen, the 2-year-old grabbed the father's gun from the television stand and shot himself in the head, police said. The boy was pronounced dead at St. Joe's hospital later Wednesday morning.

"The Meza family was struck with a heartbreak at the sudden loss of baby Angelo this morning, 6/2/2021," the GoFundMe stated. "We are raising this money for Socorro and her children. The last thing we want them to worry about during this unexpected tragedy, is financial burdens. We are asking for donations of any amount to help cover the funeral and family expenses for her precious baby boy."

By Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe had already raised $5,995 thanks to 64 different donors.

One woman, who donated $50, wrote: "I don’t even want to imagine the heartbreak of losing my baby."

At Wednesday afternoon's Joliet police news conference, Lt. Joe Egizio told reporters: "Bad things happen quick. I'm not judging individual decisions. We are here to do our job, which we have, to investigate the unfortunate situation that happened this morning, and I'll leave it at that."

If you want to donate, visit the Baby Angelo Funeral Expenses GoFundMe here.

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