CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An 8-year-old girl is dead, and at least 10 others were injured — including a toddler and two other children — after a mass shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood Saturday night.
Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief Don Jerome said it happened shortly after 9 p.m. near 52nd Street and Damen Avenue. He said officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert that 18 rounds had been fired.
“Upon arriving here, they discovered multiple people shot on the block,” he said.
Jerome said the 8-year-old girl was shot in the head, while a 1-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were each shot multiple times and were listed in critical condition. A 9-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to his hand and was listed in good condition.
The family was gathered for a birthday party outside when gunmen opened fire with assault rifles and handguns, according to a police report. There were 75 shell casings recovered from the scene, according to the report. The first officers at the scene began lifesaving measures, including applying tourniquets and chest seal bandages.
“This was not a random act of violence, it was likely gang-related,” Jerome said. “Regardless of the motivation for this incident, three innocent children were struck tonight and one of them tragically succumbed to her wounds. The offenders’ actions, make no mistake, are horrific and unacceptable in our city.”
The seven adults wounded ranged in age from 19 to 40, according to police. A 36-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds to the arms and back and was in critical condition. The rest of the adults wounded were all listed in good condition.
Police said witnesses described two shooters who approached in a black sedan. After the shooting, police said they fled southbound on Damen Avenue.
No one is in custody.
In a statement Sunday morning, local Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) said she was confident police “will work tirelessly to apprehend the person or persons responsible for this cowardly crime.”
“The Back of the Yards community is united in our grief, prayers, and collective mindset that we must continue to stand firm against these senseless acts of physical force,” Coleman wrote. “I want to send my heartfelt condolences to the family of this precious jewel and my prayers to every person injured.”
At least 120 children younger than age 16 have been shot to death in Chicago since 2018, according to data kept by the Sun-Times. In more than half the cases — 85 — no arrests have been made.
Also Saturday night, about half an hour after the mass shooting in Back of the Yards, a 9-year-old boy was wounded in another shooting several miles away in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
Police said the boy was on a sidewalk about 10 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Sawyer Avenue when someone fired shots in the area and he was struck.
He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
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