A 6-year-old boy accidentally fatally shot his 3-year-old brother on Saturday in Chicago when he got hold of his father's revolver during a game of "cops and robbers," police said.
The boys' father Michael Santiago, 25, was charged Sunday with one felony count of causing child endangerment or death after his son found the firearm on top of the family's refrigerator in their Humboldt Park home around 9 p.m. and shot his younger brother in the head.
"The victim was carried by a family member to Norwegian hospital and subsequently transported to Mt. Sinai hospital where he was pronounced [dead]," police said in a statement.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi named the victim as Eian Santiago, according to the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press.
During a court appearance on Sunday, Santiago's bond was set at $75,000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Guglielmi told the AP Santiago had told police he was a former gang member who had obtained the gun illegally in order to protect his family.
Writing on Facebook, Santiago's wife, Angie Lasalle, defended her husband: "My husband is a great husband...[and] father," she wrote. "It was an accident. Please, no one wanted to this to happen."
"The gun was put away, OK. My son was looking for something...[and] found it...[and] thought it was a toy," she wrote.
Santiago wrote on Facebook that he "can't believe [his] baby is gone."
He shared a link to a GoFundMe page set up to help cover the cost of the child's funeral.
"Tonight is a night that will haunt us for the rest of our [lives]," the page reads.