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CHICAGO (CBS 2) - As an eight year old boy recovers from a driveby shooting in the Humboldt park neighborhood, Mayor Daley is defending Police Superintendent Jody Weis, who blamed the boys parents, saying they had made their child vulnerable by engaging in gang activities.
WBBM's John Cody reports.
Josue Torres was reported in serious but stable condition at Stroger Hospital of Cook County after undergoing a four-hour surgery. He was alert, surrounded by friends and family, and was expected to recover.
However, the city's top brass including Mayor Daley and Police Supt. Jody Weiss have weighed in on the tragic shooting.
Police said the shooting appears to have been gang-related and they're investigating whether Josue's father was the intended target. At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said Josue's parents share the blame for the shooting.
"I hate to say it, but the parents are to blame for that 8-year-old being shot. They choose to engage in this activity," Weis said.
Daley defended those comments at a news conference today by saying that no parent should put their child in harms way.
"(The father is) engaging in gang activity and, more than likely, he's probably breaking some laws. ... As long as we have people who are willing to break the law and engage in criminal activities, these are some of the consequences that we face. We have an innocent boy whose dreams will be shattered, whose family's dreams are shattered and it's horrible and we've got to do something about it," Weis said.
Josue was sitting in his family's van Monday night, parked near the corner of Spaulding and Division with his mother and six other siblings, all between the ages of 8 and 14. His stepfather had just stepped out of the car to talk to Eudes Padilla when someone fired shots into the vehicle.
"We heard some shots, two shots, then there was all this screaming." Padilla said.
A gunman in a passing black car with tinted windows fired the shots, striking only Josue, according to police News Affairs Officer David Banks. The car fled the scene in an unknown direction and has not been located, Banks said.
Josue was hit twice, in his lower abdomen and groin. Doctors at Stroger Hospital performed nearly four hours of surgery to repair the damage.
Dr. Courtney Hollowell said, "He's resting comfortably. He's got an assortment of wrestling toys and he's got his family at his side."
Some teachers from Lafayette Elementary School were also at Josue's side. He's attended the school since preschool and is a popular 2nd grader.
His family expressed 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 Trauma team's efforts, he now has a second chance at life," Jessica Perez, Josue's mother, said in a written statement Tuesday morning.
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..
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