2 kids among 15 shot Wednesday on South, West sides

Fifteen people, including a 4-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, were wounded within 11 hours in shootings Wednesday on the city’s South and West sides.

The children were among three people shot Wednesday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood. The shooting happened about 4 p.m. in the 5500 block of West Van Buren, according to Chicago Police. The children and a 27-year-old man were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment. The boy suffered a graze wound to the leg, and the girl had a gunshot wound to the leg. Their conditions had stabilized. The man was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Most recently, another 27-year-old man was shot while driving in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. He was driving a vehicle and stopped in traffic about 10:10 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Madison, police said. At Madison and Kedzie, he heard several shots and a bullet went through his vehicle, striking him in the leg. He took himself to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Just more an hour earlier, a man was wounded in a Marquette Park neighborhood shooting on the Southwest Side. The 42-year-old was standing on the sidewalk about 9 p.m. in the 7300 block of South Maplewood when a male wearing all black and armed with a gun walked up to him, according to police. When the 42-year-old ran away, the suspect shot him in both legs. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition. His condition had stabilized.

Fifteen minutes before that, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. He was on foot about 8:45 p.m. in the 5300 block of South Winchester when two males approached, took out a weapon and fired shots, police said. The boy was shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition stabilized.

Just before 7 p.m., a man was wounded in a shooting in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. The 30-year-old was shot in his right thigh and foot in the 4400 block of West Congress, according to police. He was not being cooperative with investigators and the circumstances of the shooting were not known. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

Earlier Wednesday evening, a 22-year-old man was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Far South Side West Pullman neighborhood. Someone shot the man from a silver vehicle about 5:20 p.m. while he was standing on a corner in the 12200 block of South Green, police said. The man suffered a gunshot wound to his side and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

About 20 minutes earlier, a man was shot in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. He was in front of a home about 5 p.m. in the 1800 block of West 88th Street when a gray car drove up and someone inside fired shots, according to police. The man suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle and was taken in good condition to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park.

A 23-year-old man was wounded in another drive-by shooting less than half an hour earlier in the West Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. Someone shot the man from a white vehicle as he was walking about 4:35 p.m. in the 100 block of West 79th Street, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the knee and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

Several hours earlier, a dispatcher for the Chicago Police Department shot an 18-year-old woman during a traffic dispute in the South Side McKinley Park neighborhood. The two women were involved in an argument over traffic about 1:50 p.m. in the 3500 block of South Ashland when the 47-year-old dispatcher fired shots at the 18-year-old, authorities said. The 18-year-old was shot in the chest and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition was stabilized. The dispatcher suffered a head injury and was also taken to Stroger, where she was stabilized.

About 30 minutes before that, a man was shot in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. The 37-year-old was walking on the sidewalk in the 700 block of South Independence at 1:28 p.m. when a male walked up and fired shots before running away, police said. The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition stabilized.

Wednesday’s first shooting left three people injured at 11:11 a.m. in the West Side Austin neighborhood. Someone fired into a vehicle and struck the victims in the 100 block of North Cicero, according to police. A 44-year-old man was shot in the upper arm and shoulder; a 28-year-old woman was shot in the left arm and right leg; and a 32-year-old woman was shot in the leg. All three victims were taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital.

On Tuesday, eight people were shot across Chicago, three of them fatally.