Chicago alderman accidentally shoots himself in the wrist
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Chicago Ald. Derrick Curtis suffered a gunshot wound while cleaning a gun Monday afternoon in the Ashburn neighborhood on the South Side.
Chicago police confirmed a man was struck in the left wrist in the 8200 block of South Christiana Avenue and taken in fair condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Police records show he was cleaning a neighbor’s 9 mm Taurus handgun, which accidentally fired when he pulled its slide lock back.
Police said both Curtis and the neighbor have Firearm Owners Identification cards. No one besides Curtis was injured.
Curtis released a statement saying his neighbor, a longtime friend, had asked Curtis to examine the weapon because it “had been malfunctioning at the gun range.”
The alderman, who the statement said is a licensed Concealed Carry instructor, took the gun apart and found it needed “cleaning and other repairs.” It malfunctioned and discharged while Curtis was putting the gun back together.
Earlier this year, Curtis, alderman of the Southwest Side 18th Ward since 2015, was fined $1,000 for using a city email account to campaign for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection bid.
