Chicago shootings: 1 killed, 28 wounded in shootings Wednesday

Overturned car near the scene of one of two mass shootings in North Lawndale Wednesday night

A 15-year-old boy was killed and 28 other people were wounded by gunfire in Chicago Wednesday as the city was hit by three mass shootings in a single day.

Damarion L. Benson was shot along with four other people in North Lawndale shortly after 6 p.m. Minutes later, a few blocks away, five people were shot outside Theodore Herzl Elementary School. Shortly before midnight, 8 people traveling on a party bus were shot in Lincoln Park.

At least 34 other shootings this year have wounded four or more people, according to a Sun-Times analysis of city data. Over the last five years, Chicago has recorded the most mass shootings in the nation by far, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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In the first mass shooting Wednesday, two teenage boys and three men were at the corner of Douglas and Christiana when someone opened fire, police said. Damarion was shot in the head and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other teen, 16, was also struck in the head and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in grave condition. Three men were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized. A 22-year-old was shot in the foot while another, 24, was struck in the leg. A third man, also 24, was shot in the hip.
Minutes later, three teens and two other people were shot just blocks away outside Theodore Herzl Elementary School near Douglas Boulevard and Ridgeway Avenue. An 18-year-old man was shot in the upper body and taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. Two boys, 15 and 17, were taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition. The 15-year-old was shot in the leg while the other suffered a graze wound to the back. A third boy, 14, was shot in the arm and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, while a 22-year-old man was struck in the thigh and taken to the same hospital in good condition. Though only three blocks apart, police said the shootings didn’t appear to be related.
Eight people were wounded in a drive-by in Lincoln Park on the North Side just before midnight. The group had been traveling on a party bus when a dark gray and black Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up in the 1600 block of North La Salle Drive and someone inside fired shots, police said. A 24-year-old man was shot in the arm and a 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg. They were both taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the man was in fair condition and the woman was in serious condition. A 23-year-old man was struck in the groin and was also taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in serious condition. Two men, 42 and 52, were struck in the leg and taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where they were in fair condition. A 27-year-old man was struck in the chest and later dropped off at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition. A 29-year-old man was struck in the arm and went to Rush University Medical Center, then transferred to Stroger Hospital in fair condition. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the hand and drove to Jackson Park Hospital where she is in good condition.
A 14-year-old boy was shot in West Garfield Park. He was standing in the first block of North Keeler Avenue when someone fired shots about 5:30 p.m., police said. The teen was struck in the foot and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
Earlier in the afternoon, a 17-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting outside a gas station on the Near West Side. The teen was in the parking lot in the 2300 block of West Warren Boulevard when someone opened fire about 2:30 p.m., police said. He was shot in the abdomen and was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
A 16-year-old boy was shot in the Douglas neighborhood on the South Side. He was in the 600 block of East 31st Street when he was wounded in the shoulder about 1:40 a.m., police said. The teen was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

Eight others were wounded in shootings across the city.

One person was killed and 12 others were wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago.

Children walk past a crime scene as police investigate the scene near S Christiana Ave and W Douglas Blvd in Lawndale, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Police investigate the scene in front of Thoedore Herzl Public School at the corner of W Douglas Blvd and S Ridgeway Ave in Lawndale, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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A Divvy bike lies on the ground at a crime scene near S Christiana Ave and W Douglas Blvd in Lawndale, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Bullet casings are marked with blue cards as police investigate the scene at the corner of W Douglas Blvd and S Ridgeway Ave in Lawndale, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Deputy Chief Ernest Cato and staff walk to address the media regarding the recent shooting that happened minutes from each other at the corner of W Douglas Blvd and S Ridgeway Ave in Lawndale, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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