Kh’aden Johnson, 2, a boy from Chicago, was in a residence on the South Side when a gun went off around early afternoon on September 8, 2025. Police said the toddler accidentally shot himself in the face in the 300 block of East 87th Street in the Chatham neighborhood. First responders rushed him to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Authorities identified him as Kh’aden Johnson and noted the shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m.
He arrived at the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead at approximately 4:45 p.m., according to reports referencing police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Chicago police detained a person of interest and brought that individual to a station for questioning in the hours after the shooting. By that evening, the person of interest was released without charges, and detectives continued to investigate how the 2-year-old boy, Kh’aden Johnson, came to have access to the firearm.
The death of Kh’aden Johnson, 2, unfolded amid a troubling series of accidental shootings involving children in the city this year, a pattern that has prompted renewed public outcry and safety efforts. In the weeks surrounding the incident, police and community groups emphasized the distribution of gun locks and education on safe firearm storage as they sought to prevent similar tragedies.
