Chicago police launched an investigation into a Facebook photo of a toddler holding a gun, the department announced Thursday.
The picture, which made its rounds on Facebook this week, shows a man taking a selfie of himself and a toddler. The little girl holds what appears to be a gun with her finger on the trigger, reports NBC Chicago.
Police are now looking in to the picture after a report was filed on it.
“We are aware but [there is] no way to ascertain if it’s in Chicago,” said Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “Also, [the] firearm might be a BB gun but that’s not clear.”
Andrew Holmes, a Chicago activist, said he also informed the police about the photo.
“Immediately, I notified the authorities because we have to save their children’s lives. We just lost a 3-year old, who lost his life last week with a gun in his hand and this looks like a 3-year old with a gun in her hand,” Holmes said.
A three-year-old died last week during a game of “cops and robbers” at his family’s home. The mother owned a gun legally, but did not lock the gun away properly.
“If you look at that incident—and then you look at this one where this child should have been taught not to touch a gun—but you’re taking a photo with the child holding the gun and her finger on the trigger … come on now,” Holmes said.
Holmes urged the community to report photos like this to the police.
“We have to protect our children if other people don’t want to protect them,” he went on. “This is something that will cause this little girl to lose her life, but it wouldn’t be her fault. There will be blood on your hands,”
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