Community surprises 5-year-old boy recovering from shooting with Christmas gifts

Spider-Man greets Clareon Williams, 5, who is recovering at Comer Children’s Hospital from surgeries after being shot Nov. 16. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

From his hospital bed, 5-year-old Clareon Williams held onto Superman and Batman figurines as characters stopped by the hospital’s emergency room entrance to drop off toys for him just before Christmas Day.

“You see them, Clareon,” the boy’s mother, Gwendolyn Dunmars, said as she stood outside the hospital with the characters. “They are all out here for you.”

Comer Children’s Hospital workers used a tablet to show the boy the characters — ranging from Spiderman to Mickey Mouse — who came bearing gifts from the community for the young boy. Clareon has been hospitalized since Nov. 16 when a bullet ripped through his Far South Side apartment, striking him in the head as he sat with his father playing on an iPad.

Clareon is a fan of superheroes and he was wearing Spiderman pajamas when he was shot, said Clarence Williams, the boy’s father.

Gwendolyn Dunmars, right, the mother of Clareon Williams, and comic book and movie characters greet Clareon through a screen Tuesday outside Comer Children’s Hospital in the Hyde Park neighborhood.

“He’s a superhero, and I wish he had his superhero powers when all that stuff was happening,” Williams said, adding his son would always walk around saying he had superhero powers. “I’m just grateful that he’s still here and he’s in recovery mode.”

Williams said Tuesday that his son was learning how to walk and talk again. The boy could be seen moving his hand in the video.

Dunmars recorded as the characters drove into the emergency entrance Tuesday morning on two tow trucks. The characters left numerous gifts including a Spiderman car and figurine on the hospital’s curb. Hospital workers and police officers stopped by to videotape the drop-off.

“If Clareon was here right now, he’d be smiling,” said Dunmars. “He’s such a happy child. He has a beautiful smile, a smile that will light up the room.”

Clareon Williams, 5, watched from his hospital room Tuesday as Spider-Man and other characters dropped off Christmas presents for him at Comer Children’s Hospital in Hyde Park.

Dressed as Santa, Early Walker, the president of “I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot,” said he and others in the community wanted to surprise the boy with the gifts and within hours the event was coordinated.

“This is what Christmas is about, bringing kids’ dreams to life,” Walker said. “No child is more deserving than Clareon who almost lost his life. By the grace of God, he is still here today.”

Glen Brooks, the director of public engagement for the Chicago Police Department, said investigators were still seeking any information about the Nov. 16 shooting that wounded the 5-year-old boy. The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. in the 200 block of West 115th Street in the Roseland neighborhood.

More than $10,000 has been offered as a reward for information about the shooter. Police also released a video of a man shooting out of a vehicle.

Before leaving the hospital, the characters huddled around the tablet to wave at Clareon.

“You are my favorite,” said Spiderman. “I’m proud of you.”

Police officers and characters unload toys for Clareon Williams, a 5-year-old boy recovering at Comer Children’s Hospital after being shot Nov. 16.

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from the Chicago Community Trust.