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Charges filed after Kewanee 6-year-old accesses gun in home, shoots own hand

Police gathered statements and executed a search warrant to get evidence from the home in the 400 block of Rice St.

KEWANEE, Ill. — Update Thursday, Aug. 17 at 1 p.m.: The Kewanee Police Department announced in a Facebook post Thursday that Nicholas Mitro, 37, has been charged with two misdemeanors after a six-year-old was able to access a gun. 

One charge falls under the Firearms: Child Protection Act and is a class C misdemeanor. Mitro is also facing a class A misdemeanor for endangering the life or health of a child. Class A misdemeanors carry a possible sentence of up to 364 days in jail, according to the post. 

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A 6-year-old child shot themselves in the hand after finding a gun in their home on Sunday, according to a release from the Kewanee Police Department.

Around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13, officers from the Kewanee Police Department responded to reports of a gunshot victim in the 400 block of Rice Street.

Officers talked with witnesses, who told them that a vehicle had just left the area at a high speed. Officers then learned that a private vehicle had arrived at OSF St. Luke Hospital in Kewanee carrying a gunshot victim.

The victim was a 6-year-old child, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to their left hand.

Kewanee Police Department detectives and crime scene technicians were called in to assist officers with the investigation. The department gathered statements and executed a search warrant to gather evidence from the home in the 400 block of Rice St.

The investigation indicates that the 6-year-old was "able to access a handgun in their residence and discharged one round into their left hand," according to the release.

The Kewanee Police Department is investigating the incident and anyone with information is asked to call the Kewanee PD at (309)853-1911.

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