An Avondale man who illegally carried a firearm to a family Christmas party wound up shooting two attendees, including an 11-year-old, when he fumbled the gun and it discharged — twice — prosecutors said. The family took his gun away and told him to leave the party.
Tyquan Scott, 23, headed to his girlfriend’s family’s home on the 5400 block of North Austin in Jefferson Park to celebrate Christmas Eve with a gun tucked into his waistband, prosecutors said.
Scott began drinking and, around 11:30 p.m., his gun began to fall out of his waist, according to the allegations.
He grabbed for the weapon to keep it from falling, but it fired, striking an 11-year-old boy, prosecutors said. Then, it fired again, striking a 25-year-old man. Both victims were shot in their legs. Police said they were listed in good condition after the shooting.
“We won’t quite categorize it as a Christmas miracle, but it is fortunate to be sure,” Judge David Navarro said during Scott’s bond hearing.
Other family members took Scott’s gun away and asked him to leave, prosecutors said. Police recovered the gun from a table in the home.
Officers radioed a description of Scott, and cops found him sitting at a bus stop about three blocks away, according to prosecutors.
The 11-year-old’s mother reportedly identified Scott as the person who had the gun and caused it to fire. An assistant state’s attorney said Scott admitted to having the gun and said he “grabbed it by the trigger as it began to fall.”
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood emphasized that the alleged shootings were accidents. Scott lives with his girlfriend and two children, Smallwood said.
Prosecutors charged Scott with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Navarro set bail at $50,000, meaning Scott must post a $5,000 deposit to get out of jail.
