2 shot near Belmont Red Line station in Lake View

Two men were shot and critically wounded a block away from the Belmont CTA Red Line station early Saturday in Lake View.

About 3 a.m., the men, 23 and 36, were standing near a parked vehicle at the corner of Belmont and Kenmore when someone walked up and opened fire, according to Chicago Police.

The younger man was shot multiple times, and the older was shot in the neck, police said. They were both taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. No one was in custody early Saturday.

Two areas were taped off between Kenmore and Sheffield on Belmont. Red tape cordoned off six shell casings and a silver four-door Volkswagen with its passenger side window shot out on the northeast corner of Belmont and Kenmore.

The northwest corner of Belmont and Sheffield next to 1000 Liquors was cordoned off with yellow tape one block east. A trail of blood on the sidewalk and street connected the two scenes.

People could be seen leaving the bars on the bustling stretch of Belmont, but no one said they’d heard anything over the loud music inside. Most were unaware that two people had just been shot.

A security guard at one bar said he walked outside when he saw police driving by. “I walked to the corner [of Belmont and Sheffield] and saw the dude holding his neck. Blood was just gushing out…and somebody told me he got shot three times.”

He said the victim was talking to the cops and sitting on the curb. A firetruck then pulled up and blocked the street off, he said. “It had to have been a small gun because he was [still] talking.”

He said the cops were running around looking for the shooter, but didn’t think they found anyone.

Brian, a security guard at a different bar who wore a bulletproof vest, said he saw at least 12 squad cars on Belmont. “One was parked by the [Belmont Station], so I think they were looking for someone on the Red Line.”

“It was crazy,” he said. “It’s getting bad all over the city.”