STERLING, Ill. — A teenager was hospitalized after allegedly shooting himself in the leg with a stolen gun, according to Sterling police.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting on the 500 block of Third Avenue in Sterling shortly before 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Upon arrival, officers said a vehicle fled the home. Officers pursued, but the chase ended after the driver abandoned the vehicle in the Jefferson School parking lot and fled on foot. During the chase, the vehicle struck a fence at Sterling High School. Police said the vehicle had been reported stolen on Monday.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old male was located with a gunshot injury to his leg at the residence the vehicle fled from. Officers said the victim reported being shot in Rock Falls. The juvenile was hospitalized for his injuries, which police said are not life-threatening. Further information on his condition wasn't released.
While investigating, officers found a gun laying on the road near Fifth Avenue and East 14th Street, which was later determined to have been stolen from Clinton. Investigators believe the juvenile accidentally shot himself with this gun near where the weapon was located while traveling in the stolen vehicle. After being injured, the juvenile went to the residence where officers found him.
Sterling police officials didn't say whether any charges were being field in the case.