On the evening of April 6, 2023, 5-year-old African American boy Kentrell Pouncey was fatally shot inside his family’s home on Paxton Avenue in Calumet City, Illinois. Officers responded to reports of a child shot at about 9 p.m.; Kentrell was found with a gunshot wound to the head, was transported to Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, and pronounced dead just before 10:15 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed his identity.

At the time, Kentrell was at home with his mother and three siblings, all under 15. Preliminary investigation indicated a family member had brought a firearm into the residence after finding it elsewhere, without the mother’s knowledge. Authorities had not determined how the gun was discharged or who fired the fatal shot. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified and the siblings were placed with other family members.

City officials, including Mayor Thaddeus Jones, Mayor’s office spokesperson Sean Howard, and Alderman DeAndre Tillman, expressed sorrow and stressed firearm safety. No arrests had been reported while the investigation continued. If anyone has information about how the firearm ended up in the home or who was handling it that evening, please come forward.