2 killed, 4 wounded in Thursday shootings

At least six people were shot — two of them fatally — across Chicago on Thursday.

A 41-year-old man was fatally struck by gunfire in Albany Park on the Northwest Side. Dennis Sackmaster was standing in an alley about 12:24 a.m. in the 4900 block of North Kedzie Avenue when someone in a red van opened fire, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Sackmaster was struck in the abdomen and was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, authorities said. His death was ruled a homicide, and police are questioning a person of interest in the shooting.

Just over two hours later, a man was shot to death in South Shore. Lamario Birge, 36, was found about 2:17 a.m. in the driver’s side of a vehicle in the 2800 block of East 79th Street by officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert, authorities said. Birge was shot in the chest and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He lived in South Deering.

In non-fatal gun violence incidents, a man and a woman were wounded in Humboldt Park on the West Side. They were struck by gunfire about 3:40 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Chicago Avenue, police said. The 18-year-old woman was hit in the back and a 27-year-old man was shot in the thigh and arm. Their conditions were stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

A few hours later, a woman was hurt in an Englewood shooting on the South Side.

The 24-year-old was sitting in a parked vehicle about 9:49 p.m. in the 6200 block of South Wolcott Avenue when she heard shots and felt pain, police said.

She drove to the 6300 block of South Damen Avenue with a wound to the chest to call for help, police said. The woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where her condition was stabilized.

A 23-year-old man was wounded in the day’s latest gun violence incident in Austin on the West Side. At 11:13 p.m., he was walking on a sidewalk in the 600 block of North Central Avenue when someone opened fire and he felt pain, police said.

The man took himself to Rush University Medical Center with a gunshot to the leg, police said. His condition was stabilized.

One person was killed and seven others were wounded in Wednesday shootings.

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