Tuesday, December 21, 2010

12-year-old boy in grave condition after dad "allegedly" shot him in head (Joliet, Illinois)

Dad RODERICK TADEMY has been arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a firearm. Is that what you call it when you shoot your 12-year-old son in the head with a .22 calibur handgun? Although to be sure, police concede that the charges may be upgraded. Sounds like Daddy has quite the arsenal there. Frankly, I suspect that a lot of these gun freak guys are less interested in self-defense than using their weaponry to intimidate and threaten their families.

http://triblocal.com/joliet/2010/12/21/joliet-father-allegedly-shoots-12-year-old-son-in-the-head-boy-in-grave-condition/

12-year-old Joliet boy in grave condition after father allegedly shot him in head
By Mary Owen TribLocal reporter Today at 11:49 a.m.

A 12-year-old Joliet boy is in grave condition today after his father alleged shot him in the head Monday evening.

“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” said Joliet Police Chief Fred Hayes. “The most obvious of which is what could possibly possess this father to shoot his 12-year-old son.”

The boy, Obedyah Tademy, is a seventh grader at Hufford Junior High School in Joliet, police and school officials confirmed. He was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet and then transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

His father Roderick Tademy will appear in Will County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. He was initially charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, but officials said the charges will likely be upgraded.

The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. in an upstairs apartment in the 1200 block of Cutter Avenue on the city’s west side, Hayes said. The boy’s 36-year-old mother called 911 saying that her husband had shot their son.

Police found the boy in the living room with a single-gunshot wound to the head, Hayes said. The father was found in the rear of the apartment as well as the .22-caliber handgun believed to be used in the shooting. Police also recovered an AK-47 rifle, semi-automatic sub-machine gun and a .380-caliber handgun. Hayes said Tademy did not have a firearms owner certification card.

The couple’s 6-year-old twin daughters were also in the home when the shooting occurred. The girls were taken into protective custody and will eventually be interviewed by social workers. The girls were not harmed.

“We don’t know exactly what they witnessed or saw,” Hayes said.

Hayes said the family had moved to Joliet less than two years ago and are originally from the Atlanta area. Local law enforcement has reached out to Atlanta area police to determine if Tademy had a previous criminal history.

Hayes said the family had not had any domestic incidents reported to the Joliet Police Department since they have moved to the city.