Multiple people were hit in a string of shootings over the course of four hours last night in Chicago, including 13 wounded in a single shooting at a park. According to the Chicago Tribune, 18 people total were shot. A teenage boy was shot around 6:35 p.m. followed by a 36-year-old man around 6:56 p.m., again followed by multiple shootings at 6:52 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 10:31 p.m..
By far the largest shooting occurred at Cornell Square Park in the Back of the Yards. Witnesses reported that at around 10:15 p.m., a gray sedan pulled up to the park and two men began firing what sounded like an “AK,” according to one report. By the end, 13 people were shot, including a three-year-old boy who was hit by a bullet that entered through his ear and exited through the cheek. As of last night, he was in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. There were no fatalities at Cornell Square park, but two other people, besides the three-year-old, were hospitalized in critical condition. Throughout the city only one person died from their wounds.
Victims across the city ranged from three-years-old to 41-years-old, with most in their teens to early 20s. So far this year, Chicago has had over 200 murders, a reduction from the amount of murders at this point in 2012, but still higher than most cities in the U.S. There were over 500 murders in Chicago last year.
Ron Gaines, a Chicago police spokesperson, said that the shootings appear to be gang related.
UPDATE Officials now reports that there are two fatalities from the night’s shooting.
UPDATE According to an MSNBC report Friday afternoon, in all there were 23 people shot in eleven separate instances with only one resulting in a fatality, brought down from the two reported before.