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Police: Waukegan boy, 3, dies after being shot in head

A 3-year-old Waukegan boy died early Thursday after being shot in the head, and police believe it was an accident.

Police were called to a home on the 1100 block of Greenfield Avenue about 3 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from the boy's mother. Jeremiah Banks was taken to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead, Waukegan police said in a news release.

Waukegan police say Jeremiah woke in the night and went to his parents' bedroom. He took a handgun, a 9 mm semiautomatic Diamondback, into the living room, where it discharged and struck him in the head, police said. He died from a single gunshot wound, coroner's officials say.

The boy's father possess a valid FOID card. Another gun, a rifle, was taken into police custody.

No one else was injured. The identity of the parents is being withheld while police continue to investigate. No charges have been filed, police said.

  Waukegan police were on the scene of the shooting death of a 3-year-old boy in Waukegan. Police believe the shooting was accidental. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Waukegan Police Cmdr. Joe Florip talks to the media about the investigation into the shooting death of a 3-year-old boy. Police say the shooting occurred about 3 a.m. in a house on the 1100 block of Greenfield Avenue. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  A Waukegan Police officer enters a house on the 1100 block of Greenfield Avenue where a 3-year-old boy was shot and killed. Police believe the shooting was accidental. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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