You Won't Believe How This 3-Year-Old Was Killed During a Game of Cops and Robbers

Three-year-old Eian Santiago was playing a harmless round of cops and robbers in his Chicago home when things went terribly wrong. During the game, his 6-year-old brother reached for a loaded gun — which was wrapped in a pair of pajama pants and sitting on top of the refrigerator — and shot his little brother in the face. Eian was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.

The children were in the care of their grandfather at the time of the shooting, but their father, Michael Santiago, was arrested and charged with child endangerment. Santiago, a former member of the Spanish Cobras street gang, bought the gun from a gang member for protection.

Assistant State's Attorney Joseph DiBella says Santiago had shown the 6-year-old the gun a week before the deadly shooting and told him that it was only for adults. "He was a beautiful kid. It's real crazy. That's why parents should never have guns in the house," Eian's grandfather Israel LaSalle told CLTV.

For years, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has been making the case that the flood of illegal guns in the city is the major cause of Chicago's violent crimes. He says Eian's case tragically illustrates his point: "It's real simple. If that gun is not in the house that kid is alive today. We see this happen over and over and over again."