Chicago shooting: 6 injured in mass shooting in Austin’s West Side, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) – Six people were injured, many of them children, after a mass shooting in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, according to Chicago police.

The shooting took place on Saturday night shortly after 11:30 p.m., Chicago police said. The victims were attending a party in the 5000 block of western Ohio and were standing on the street with a group of people when a dark-colored SUV pulled up and people in the vehicle opened the fire, investigators said.

Neighbors who heard the gunshots said it sounded like dozens of gunshots, causing people to run in all directions.

“It’s a war zone in the neighborhood and it shouldn’t be there,” said a man who did not want to be named. “It’s bad, it’s really bad.”

A 12-year-old girl was shot in the hand; two 13 and 14 year old girls were hit in the lower back; and a 15-year-old girl suffered a scraped head and a gunshot wound to her lower back.

“Seeing the yellow tape over there, it’s kind of devastating when you start to see the reality of how close it was,” the man said. “It was like 25-30 hits and then about a few minutes there were another 25-30 hits.”

Another neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, said he heard at least three multiple shots fired on Saturday evening.

“Then, about five minutes later, there was more shooting like a few blocks around here,” the neighbor added.

A woman, who also did not want to show her face to the camera, said she also heard several gunshots.

“Then I heard the race [and] the screams, so I got up to check and see what was what, “she said,” and the next thing I saw was the police everywhere. “

All the girls were taken to area hospitals and are in fair condition. Another victim, a 19-year-old woman, is recovering from a bullet in the back.

The sixth victim, a 25-year-old man, entered a hospital emergency room with a gunshot wound to his lower back. He was treated and released.

“I feel bad for the kids. I feel bad for the teenagers. I feel bad for the neighborhood. It happens everywhere,” said a neighbor.

No one is in custody as police continue to investigate.

In another shooting, an 8-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being shot in the left leg, Chicago police said. The shooting took place around 1 a.m. Sunday morning on West 83rd Street in the Gresham neighborhood. The child was in a vehicle with a 28-year-old man, who was shot in the back when an individual in a black SUV shot them.

“It devastated me because I just remember when we could go out, sit on the porch and have fun,” the woman said. “I really wish the violence would stop. I really wish it would.”

There were at least 52 people injured and five people dead as a result of shootings over the weekend.