A 12-year-old girl was in serious condition Friday night after she was shot in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side, authorities said.
The girl was shot in the side about 7:20 p.m. near 24th Street and California Avenue and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien said.
She was walking with her uncle near the Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy, 2850 W. 24th, when a gunman across the street began shooting at another man. As other children hit the ground to avoid getting shot, the girl was hit.
Frank Estrada, a longtime neighbor, who said he witnessed what happened, described a man shooting across California toward the school, with three other men acting as lookouts. “They whistled and a guy comes out, and he shoots across the boulevard...at anything that moves. And he ran and he jumped over a fence and went into an abandoned house,†Estrada said.
“This has been going on for 30 years, and they can’t stop it. The innocent people, the ones who live around here, are the ones getting it,†Estrada said angrily.
Neighbors said Friday night the area is a border region between rival gangs, the Boulevard Latin Kings and the Satan Disciples, with gunshots ringing out a common occurrence. “You hear this every other night,†said one neighbor, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years.
At 24th and California, a grassy area was cordoned off with police tape, but nearby, soon after the shooting, families were still grilling out at a park.
Girl, 12, in serious condition after being shot in Little Village - Chicago Sun-Times
The girl was shot in the side about 7:20 p.m. near 24th Street and California Avenue and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien said.
She was walking with her uncle near the Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy, 2850 W. 24th, when a gunman across the street began shooting at another man. As other children hit the ground to avoid getting shot, the girl was hit.
Frank Estrada, a longtime neighbor, who said he witnessed what happened, described a man shooting across California toward the school, with three other men acting as lookouts. “They whistled and a guy comes out, and he shoots across the boulevard...at anything that moves. And he ran and he jumped over a fence and went into an abandoned house,†Estrada said.
“This has been going on for 30 years, and they can’t stop it. The innocent people, the ones who live around here, are the ones getting it,†Estrada said angrily.
Neighbors said Friday night the area is a border region between rival gangs, the Boulevard Latin Kings and the Satan Disciples, with gunshots ringing out a common occurrence. “You hear this every other night,†said one neighbor, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years.
At 24th and California, a grassy area was cordoned off with police tape, but nearby, soon after the shooting, families were still grilling out at a park.
Girl, 12, in serious condition after being shot in Little Village - Chicago Sun-Times