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Suspect in Shooting of 7-Year-Old Questioned by Cops

By  Josh McGhee and Erica Demarest | August 19, 2013 11:39am 

  Tavion Jackon, 7, was shot while walking his bike near his West Garfield Park home Sunday night.  He was released from the hospital Monday.
Tavion Jackon, 7, was shot while walking his bike near his West Garfield Park home Sunday night. He was released from the hospital Monday.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee

WEST GARFIELD PARK — Police are questioning a suspect in the Sunday night shooting of a 7-year-old boy on the West Side, according to a police source.

Tavion Jackon's neighbors said they were "at a loss for words" after the 7-year-old was shot in front of his home Sunday night.

"We all called him 'little cutie' because he had little dreadlocks," said Jeanette Pruitt, who lives next door to Tavion's family. "We'd all say 'Hi, little cutie.' He's sweet as can be."

Tavion was shot just after 9 p.m. Sunday as he walked his bike near his house in the 4200 block of West Fifth Avenue, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police Department spokesman. As a car drove by, a gunman standing on the corner fired at a vehicle, he said.

It is unclear whether the car was struck, Estrada said, but Tavion was shot in his left side. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where was treated and released early Monday.

Pruitt said her granddaughter was upstairs studying when she heard gunshots and the sound of a car scraping speedbumps. The granddaughter rushed downstairs to find out what happened and confirmed the shooting with neighbors.

Pruitt, who's lived on the block since 1960, said "we never have any trouble" aside from the occasional theft.

"The only thing they steal around here is garbage cans. This is something very rare. This is like a dead block here," Pruitt said. "I can't understand it. I'm at a loss for words."

Tavion's family are "good neighbors," Pruitt said. She said her family planned Monday to buy Tavion's favorite snack to cheer him up.

"Why they would shoot [Tavion], I don't know," Pruitt said. "We have to do something to let him know we love him."

Officers were speaking to a suspect Monday afternoon, but no charges had been filed as of 1:45 p.m.