7 minors hurt in Chicago shootings, including 3 accidents

PTI, Feb 16, 2020, 10:08 AM IST

Chicago: Four separate shootings on Chicago’s West and South sides wounded at least seven children, including three cases that appear accidental, police said.

Three of the minors were wounded in a shooting at an apartment complex Friday night on the city’s South Side. Police said that the shooting started during a gathering inside an apartment unit and spilled into the hall, according to a release issued early Saturday.

Three adults also were wounded in the shooting at the Parkway Gardens housing complex. Police said a 14-year-old girl, 18-year-old man, and a 23-year-old woman was listed in critical condition.

The girl suffered wounds to her back, shoulder, lower backside, and leg, while the woman suffered wounds to her back, shoulder, head, and stomach. The man suffered multiple wounds to his leg.

A 20-year-old man who suffered wounds to his face, chest, and leg was listed in serious condition.

Another 14-year-old girl, who suffered a gunshot wound to her leg, and a 15-year-old girl with gunshot wounds to her leg and foot were in good condition, police said.

The release said the circumstances leading to the shooting weren’t immediately known. Police said the 23-year-old woman was armed with a handgun but didn’t say whether she fired the weapon. Police described the other shootings that injured minors as accidental, based on their initial investigations.

The first of those reports came around 8 pm on Friday night. Police said a seven-year-old girl was holding a gun when it went off, hitting an 11-year-old boy in the neck. He was taken to a hospital in serious condition.

A few hours later, a young boy was playing with a gun when it fired and shot an eight-year-old boy in the shoulder and grazed a 12-year-old girl’s arm inside a home on the South Side. They were both taken in fair condition to a hospital.

Police said it wasn’t clear who the gun belonged to.

On Saturday afternoon, a 14-year-old girl was hit in the cheek when a 15-year-old boy fired a gun at a home on the city’s West Side.

The girl was taken to a hospital in fair condition and the boy was in police custody. Police have not announced any arrests.