Police: 17-year-old shoots self in leg with stolen firearm

STERLING, Ill. (KWQC) - A 17-year-old was air-lifted to a hospital after officers said he accidentally shot a stolen gun, hitting himself in the leg. At this time, his condition is unknown, officers said, but the injury is not considered life-threatening.

At approximately 2:55 a.m., officers received a 9-1-1 call report for a person who had been shot, according to a media release from the Sterling Police Department. The person who was shot was said to be at a home in the 500 block of 3rd Avenue.

Officers said they responded to the home, and as they arrived, a vehicle fled from the location.

Believing this vehicle was possibly involved in the shooting, officers said they attempted to stop the vehicle as it fled.

A brief chase ended when the suspect abandoned the vehicle near East Lefevre and 11th Avenue, in the Jefferson School parking lot, officers said. The suspect then ran.

During the chase, the suspect vehicle was discovered as being reported stolen on Monday, officers said. The vehicle hit a fence at Sterling High School causing minor damage. The suspect was not found after a K-9 track was completed.

While the vehicle chase was happening, other Sterling officers said they found a 17-year-old boy that had been shot in the leg, in the 500 block of 3rd Avenue, where the original call was received from.

The 17-year-old told officers that he was shot at a Rock Falls location, officers said. The 17-year-old was taken by CGH EMS to CGH Medical Center, and later air-lifted to Javon Bae Hospital in Rockford, where he remains, officers said. His condition at this time is unknown, but the injury is not considered life-threatening, according to officials.

At approximately 6:48 a.m., the Sterling Police Department received information of a gun in the roadway near 5th Avenue and East 14th Street, officers said. This gun was recovered and found to have been stolen from Clinton, Iowa.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the 17-year-old accidentally discharged the stolen gun in the area it was recovered from, and struck himself in the leg, officers said. It is believed the 17-year-old was with another person and traveling in the stolen vehicle, prior to and after the self-inflicted gunshot. The 17-year-old then went to the residence in the 500 block of 3rd Avenue.

“Contrary to social media posts, there were no shooting incidents that occurred on Sterling Public School property or involving Sterling police officers,” the media release stated. “Sterling Public Schools only relation to these incidents occurred when their property was struck and the stolen vehicle was abandoned in a SPS parking lot. These incidents cause no threat to any Sterling Public Schools students or staff and the school is/has continued as normal. Sterling Police and Sterling Public Schools Administration have been in communication regarding the incidents from the onset. Further, there is believed no further threat to the general public from this incident.”

This investigation is ongoing, officers said. More updates will be given when the become available.

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