A teenager was arrested by Cleveland Police after his 4-year-old brother was shot multiple times Sunday, according to a report from the department.
Police responded to a local hospital after receiving a report of a child struck in a drive-by shooting near East 117th Street and Union Avenue.
At the hospital, officers interviewed the child's mother, who said that she was at her father's house in the 3500 block of East 117th Street, the report states. She told police that she was in the backyard with a group of adults while children played in the front yard when she heard multiple gunshots go off nearby. The report states that the mother said one of her sons told her that her younger son had been shot. She wasn't sure if it was a drive-by or if someone had "run up and started shooting."
At the hospital, police searched the mother's vehicle, which was in the parking lot and found blood in the back seat as well as a bullet shell casing.
The report states that the officers interviewing the mother learned her initial story was untrue. She later told police that her 15-year-old son had shot his brother and that the shooting didn't happen at her father's home but in the 12100 block of Craven Avenue.
The mother continued, stating in the report that she is a home health aid and was doing a food delivery at a home on Craven Avenue with her two sons and one of their friends. While inside the house, the friend came inside "but was very hesitant to tell her what happened."
The mother went outside and found her son had been shot, the report said. She then jumped in the car and drove her older son and his friend to her father's house before driving her younger son to the hospital.
In speaking with the mother, officers learned that the 15-year-old was at his grandfather's house, hiding in the attic. During a phone call with the teen, where the mother told him to turn himself in to the officers that responded to the home, he made comments regarding suicide, the report said. Officers eventually took the teen into custody without incident. Once in custody, the teen told police where the gun was that was used in the shooting, and they found it under the deck in the backyard.
Officers then transported the teen to the hospital to be given an evaluation for his comments about suicide.
The 4-year-old underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to his right thigh and a gunshot wound to his abdomen and into his back, the report said. The boy had to have part of his stomach removed. Additionally, he was treated for a broken arm. The report stated he was in stable condition.
After the older brother is released from a medical hold, he will be placed back into police custody.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
