Three-year-old boy is shot dead by his six-year-old brother as they played cops and robbers with gun their father kept for protection

  • The boy, identified as Eian Santiago, was shot in the head
  • The boys father, Michael Santiago, kept a loaded gun on top of the fridge

By Associated Press

Published: 09:39 EST, 18 October 2015 | Updated: 12:09 EST, 18 October 2015

Chicago police say a man who was charged with felony child endangerment after his six-year-old son accidentally shot and killed his three-year-old brother told investigators that he got the gun illegally from a gang member.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says Michael Santiago told investigators that he was a former gang member and felt he needed the gun to protect his family.

The shooting occurred Saturday night. Guglielmi says the older boy and his younger brother wanted to play 'cops and robbers' when one of them retrieved the loaded handgun from atop the refrigerator. The older boy shot his younger brother in the face.

Irresponsible: Michael Santiago, was charged after a three-year-old toddler was fatally shot in the head by his six-year-old brother

Irresponsible: Michael Santiago, was charged after a three-year-old toddler was fatally shot in the head by his six-year-old brother

Family members took the younger boy, identified by the medical examiner as Eian Santiago, to Norwegian American Hospital. He was later transported in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died shortly before midnight Sunday.

The boys' father, Michael Santiago, was charged Sunday with one felony count of child endangerment/death for 'knowingly' storing the loaded gun in the house and making it accessible to his children. 

Guglielmi said that Michael Santiago told police he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang and that he had purchased the gun from another gang member for 'protection'. 

Guglielmi said police are in the process of tracing the weapon. 

After the shooting, the boy's family members took him to Norwegian American Hospital. He later was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where family members gathered as word of the shooting spread.

Tragic: The boy, Eian Santiago, was at the home in the  Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago when his six-year-old brother got hold of a revolver and shot him in the head

Tragic: The boy, Eian Santiago, was at the home in the  Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago when his six-year-old brother got hold of a revolver and shot him in the head

Gangland: Police said that Michael Santiago told police he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang and that he had purchased the gun from another gang member for protection

Gangland: Police said that Michael Santiago told police he was a former member of the Spanish Cobras gang and that he had purchased the gun from another gang member for protection


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