Woman shot and killed riding inside car in East Garfield Park

A woman was shot and killed and while riding inside a car early Saturday in East Garfield Park on the West Side.

The woman, 37, was a passenger in a car in the first block of South Albany Avenue about 12:20 a.m. when someone outside shot into the car, striking her in the head and body, Chicago police said.

Lashawnda Phillips was taken to Stroger Hospital initially in critical condition, but died due to her injuries, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

No one was in custody.

The woman is the fifth person murdered in East Garfield Park so far this year — a third of murders recorded in the area last year in the same period, according to Sun-Times data.

Over an hour earlier, another passenger inside a car was fatally shot in East Pilsen on the Lower West Side.

The man, 26, was a passenger in a car driving in the 400 block of West 18th Street about 11:05 p.m. when a black sedan pulled alongside them and someone inside opened fire, police said. He was taken to Stroger and died to his injuries, police said.