CHICAGO — A toddler who was injured after a shooting on Lake Shore Drive is out of a medically induced coma, according to doctors at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Marcelo Malakooti, associate chief medical officer and medical director at Lurie Children’s Hospital, on Saturday said 21-month-old Kayden Swann, who was shot in the head, is out of a medically induced coma but remains on a ventilator. Malakooti said he continues to demonstrate positive improvements. He remains in critical condition.
The man facing gun charges connected to the road rage shooting that injured the 21-month-old boy was freed on bond Thursday and shared his side of the story as prosecutors say he did not fire the gun that injured the boy.
Jushawn Brown was charged with unlawful use of a weapon. He was driving a car with his girlfriend and her grandson, Kayden, near Soldier Field when Kayden took a bullet to the temple.
Initially, police said he fired his weapon, either before or after another driver fired but now they said he didn’t.
Prosecutors told Judge Charles Beach that Brown was driving with his girlfriend and grandson when the shooting occurred Tuesday. They say Brown placed a gun on his lap when the other driver brandished his gun.
Toddler in Lake Shore Drive shooting improving as family, state differ on what led up to it
While police initially said Brown fired shots at the SUV, prosecutors said he kept the gun in his lap. Brown’s gun was recovered by investigators.
Brown said, a simple check of his gun proved he did not fire it. None of the casings recovered at the scene matched his gun.
“I thought he was going to do something,” Brown said talking about the driver of the SUV. “I went down to grab [my gun]and put it on my lap to make sure everything was OK. I pulled off to get away from him. When I pulled off get away from him, that’s when he started shooting.”
Chicago police did not immediately respond to questions about the discrepancy between prosecutors’ court comments and police information.
“The investigation into whether the suspect fired the weapon remains ongoing,” said spokesman Sgt. Rocco Alioto.
Judge Charles Beach said Brown is not alleged to be the instigator or even accused of firing the gun.
On Thursday, the hospital issued a statement saying doctors were successful in lifting some of the sedation medication required to protect Kayden’s brain. They stated that some brain activity is returning to him.
Shots fired from vehicle in three different instances on Lake Shore Drive: police
No other arrests have been reported. Chicago police spokeswoman Karie James said Thursday that police were still searching for the driver of the second vehicle, but she had no other information to release on that person.