8 kids wounded in Chicago gunfire since Friday night, including at least 3 in accidental shootings

In a weekend that saw eight children shot within an 18-hour span — including at least three juveniles hit by accidental gunfire — Pastor Corey Brooks described Chicago as a “city of two different worlds.”

The lead pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and executive director of Project H.O.O.D. described these two worlds Saturday afternoon while standing outside the Parkway Gardens Homes on the South Side, where three of the children were among six people wounded in a single shooting late Friday.

But about 10 miles north of there, NBA players, celebrities and tourists were arriving at the United Center for the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

“The NBA All Star game has come to Chicago on what happens to be a very violent weekend,” Brooks said. “So while the eyes of the world are on our city, we’re asking for the world to come alongside and help us.”

The latest string of shootings prompted Mayor Lori Lightfoot to weigh in on Twitter.

A teenage girl was shot in the face Saturday afternoon in the Little Village neighborhood. Police said the shooting appeared accidental, but there has been no official determination.

Jake Wittich / Sun-Times

The shooting happened about 1:15 p.m. inside an apartment building near 24th Street and Troy Ave., where a 14-year-old girl was with a 15-year-old “male acquaintance” who was handling a gun, according to Chicago police.

The weapon went off, striking her in the cheek, police said. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, and the boy was in custody Saturday afternoon.

Red police tape sectioned off the apartment where the shooting took place, with police officers idling in squad cars near the scene as detectives investigated.

An 8-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl were wounded in an accidental shooting about 15 hours earlier in the Bronzeville neighborhood. About 10:20 p.m. Friday, a boy was playing with a gun inside a home when it discharged, hitting the 8-year-old boy in the shoulder and grazing the girl’s arm, police said. Both were hospitalized in fair condition. It wasn’t clear who the gun belongs to, police said.

And another accidental shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Friday, when a 7-year-old girl got hold of a gun and it went off in Lawndale, hitting her 11-year-old brother in the neck, police said. He was listed in serious condition at Stroger Hospital.

A 16-year-old boy was also shot about 4:50 p.m. Saturday in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side. He was walking on the sidewalk when someone fired at him from a light-colored vehicle, striking his left thigh, police said. The boy was taken in good condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The Parkway Gardens shooting, which wounded three teenage girls and three adults, happened during a gathering about 9 p.m. at a building near 65th Street and King Drive on the South Side, police said. Two girls, ages 14 and 15, were each shot multiple times, and a third girl, also 14, was shot in the leg. The first 14-year-old, shot in the back and shoulder, was in critical condition. The others were listed in good condition.

Arrests or potential charges have not been announced in any of the cases. At least seven adults also have been wounded in shootings so far this weekend.

Brooks said he visited the families of the six people wounded in the Parkway Gardens shooting earlier that day. One of the girls is in Project H.O.O.D., his South Side youth leadership and economic development program.

“I don’t think people can understand the magnitude of the hurt when you continue to pour your life into young people to give them an opportunity but the violence keeps happening,” Brooks said. “I wish more people would understand and have the compassion to want to help.”

He called on the NBA players and celebrities in town for All-Star weekend to visit the hundreds of youth at Project H.O.O.D., 6330 S. King Drive. Chicago-born Chance the Rapper is hosting an All-Star Game watch party at the center on Sunday.

“Although Chicago is prospering, if it weren’t for Chance bringing something to the South Side, these kids would miss out,” Brooks said. “Come down here to Woodlawn so our kids can get to know you, kids who can’t afford to go to the All-Star games. Help us provide opportunities to our young people.”

Brooks was joined by family members of two other Project H.O.O.D. teens who were killed in gun violence in the last two months.

Provided by Chanel Manney

Chanel Manney, whose son Tyquan Manney was fatally shot last December, squeezed a loved one’s hand before talking about how gun violence has affected her and a close friend.

“Our sons aren’t here anymore, but I’m here to help,” she said. “All our children don’t have a chance to live their life, and this has to stop.”

Gregory Jones Sr., whose nephew Jabari Pittman was shot to death at 19 earlier this month, held back tears as he called for the violence to end. Pittman’s funeral was Saturday morning.

“The hardest thing for a child now is to become an adult,” Jones said. “Growing up, I hoped I’d make it to 50, but now people hope to see 21.”

Last weekend marked the city’s most violent February weekend in almost two decades, with nine murders.

Contributing: Sun-Times Wire