Boy, 8, improving after being shot
June 24, 2008
FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
The family of an eight-year-old boy shot multiple times near Humbolt Park on Monday night is expressing their gratitude Tuesday to doctors who "gave the young boy a second chance at life."
?On behalf of my family and I, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. John Houston and the entire Trauma Unit staff at Stroger Hospital. Our son is doing well and due to the Trama team?s efforts, he now has a second chance at life,? Jessica Perez, mother of Josue Torres, said in a written statement Tuesday morning.
Josue was sitting inside a parked van with his parents Monday night when the gang-related attack happened about a block west of the West Side park.
Josue's condition is improving but he arrived at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County a very afraid little boy, according tohospital spokesman Sean Howard.
At 10:58 p.m. Monday, the 8-year-old was transferred to Stroger from Norwegian-American Hospital,?? according to Howard. ?He had received multiple gunshot wounds to the lower abdomen and at that point he was immediately rushed into the operating room," Howard said.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Josue looked up at his attending physician, Dr. John Houston and the other nursing staff and said, ? You guys have been so nice to me. When I die I am going to miss you.?
Houston replied, ?You are not going to die. We are going to save your life.?
The shooting occurred at 9:53 p.m. at 1150 N. Spaulding Ave., according to Harrison District police. The boy was not believed to have been the target.
A gunman in a passing black car with tinted windows fired shots, striking only the child, according to police News Affairs Officer David Banks who said the incident is gang-related.
The car fled the scene in an unknown direction and an arrest has not been made as of 9 a.m.
Josue was in surgery for four hours, Howard said, relaying the conversation between the boy and the staff. Josue woke up from surgery very happy to be alive and hungry, despite the injuries to his abdomen.
After a brief stint of the recovery room, he is now in the children?s ICU unit. "He is breathing on his own through an oxygen mask. All his vital signs are pretty good at this point,?? Howard said.
Howard said the boy?s condition was initially ?very critical and traumatic,?? but as of 8:50 a.m., it was ?stable and improving?.
The boy?s parents are at the hospital at their son?s bedside, according to Howard.
Josue is the youngest of seven children, ages 8 to 14, a hospital source said. His parents have apparently been trying to move out of the area for sometime because of the violence.
Josue is a second grader at Lafayette Elementary School, 2714 W. Augusta Blvd., according to Chicago Public Schools spokesman Malon Edwards.
Harrison Area detectives are probing the shooting.
June 24, 2008
FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
The family of an eight-year-old boy shot multiple times near Humbolt Park on Monday night is expressing their gratitude Tuesday to doctors who "gave the young boy a second chance at life."
?On behalf of my family and I, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. John Houston and the entire Trauma Unit staff at Stroger Hospital. Our son is doing well and due to the Trama team?s efforts, he now has a second chance at life,? Jessica Perez, mother of Josue Torres, said in a written statement Tuesday morning.
Josue was sitting inside a parked van with his parents Monday night when the gang-related attack happened about a block west of the West Side park.
Josue's condition is improving but he arrived at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County a very afraid little boy, according tohospital spokesman Sean Howard.
At 10:58 p.m. Monday, the 8-year-old was transferred to Stroger from Norwegian-American Hospital,?? according to Howard. ?He had received multiple gunshot wounds to the lower abdomen and at that point he was immediately rushed into the operating room," Howard said.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Josue looked up at his attending physician, Dr. John Houston and the other nursing staff and said, ? You guys have been so nice to me. When I die I am going to miss you.?
Houston replied, ?You are not going to die. We are going to save your life.?
The shooting occurred at 9:53 p.m. at 1150 N. Spaulding Ave., according to Harrison District police. The boy was not believed to have been the target.
A gunman in a passing black car with tinted windows fired shots, striking only the child, according to police News Affairs Officer David Banks who said the incident is gang-related.
The car fled the scene in an unknown direction and an arrest has not been made as of 9 a.m.
Josue was in surgery for four hours, Howard said, relaying the conversation between the boy and the staff. Josue woke up from surgery very happy to be alive and hungry, despite the injuries to his abdomen.
After a brief stint of the recovery room, he is now in the children?s ICU unit. "He is breathing on his own through an oxygen mask. All his vital signs are pretty good at this point,?? Howard said.
Howard said the boy?s condition was initially ?very critical and traumatic,?? but as of 8:50 a.m., it was ?stable and improving?.
The boy?s parents are at the hospital at their son?s bedside, according to Howard.
Josue is the youngest of seven children, ages 8 to 14, a hospital source said. His parents have apparently been trying to move out of the area for sometime because of the violence.
Josue is a second grader at Lafayette Elementary School, 2714 W. Augusta Blvd., according to Chicago Public Schools spokesman Malon Edwards.
Harrison Area detectives are probing the shooting.
