One killed, 26 wounded — including toddler — in weekend shootings

A 13-year-old boy was killed and at least 26 others — including a 3-year-old boy — have been wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening.

The toddler was critically wounded in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side about 10:10 p.m. Friday night.

Jason Ares suffered a through and through gunshot wound to the abdomen about 10 p.m. Friday in front of his home in the 4400 block of South Sacramento Avenue, according to police and family members.

MAP: Shooting tracker for July 25-27

Sandra Steve, the boy’s aunt, said her sister and the boy’s father heard gunshots and peeked between two homes when someone fired shots from the front of the home, striking the toddler.

A group of two females and a male walked past them, and when they reached the end of the block the male turned around and fired, striking the boy in the right hip and abdomen. The child was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. He was listed in critical condition.

Family members told the Sun-Times that the boy was doing better after undergoing surgery early Saturday.

Three people are in custody in connection with the shooting, and charges against them are pending, police said.

The weekend’s first shooting happened about 6 p.m., Friday when a 13-year-old boy was killed and six others were wounded in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Multiple people were standing in the 700 block of South California Avenue when they were shot, police said.

Samuel Walker was shot in his head and pronounced dead at the scene at 6:22 p.m., a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said. He died about two blocks from his home in the 3000 block of West Flournoy Street.

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the right foot and three 14-year-old boys were each shot in the left leg, police said. A 21-year-old man was shot in the right leg and taken to Mount Sinai in serious condition, police said.

A 25-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the abdomen and was treated at the scene, police said.

Loretta Young, 31, who lives near the site of the shooting, said she was watching a television newscast about 11-year-old shooting victim Shamiya Adams when she heard gunfire.

She said she immediately rushed to the shooting site because her 14-year-old daughter was outside her home.

“I went looking for my daughter and walked past the dead boy on street and two other bodies on the street,” Young said. “When it is your child, you will walk through a war zone. I found my daughter, and she was OK. She ran on someone’s porch.”

The most recent non-fatal shooting happened about 3:50 a.m. Monday on the Near North Side.

The 27-year-old man got in a fight with someone about 3:50 a.m. and was shot in the arm in the 700 block of North Clark Street, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stable.

At least 18 other people have been shot across the city since 6 p.m. Friday.

Additionally, a man died and an officer was wounded after a police-involved shooting in the Bucktown neighborhood early Monday.

The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of North Marshfield Avenue, according to police and a Fire Media Affairs spokesman.

A 44-year-old off-duty police officer was taken with a gunshot wound to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the Fire Media Affairs spokesman said. His condition had stabilized.

Another man, in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:40 a.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said. His name was not being released Monday morning.

The officer, who lives in the area, was returning home from work and still in uniform when he encountered the man attempting to break in to a nearby home that is still under construction, according to a statement from Chicago Police. The man was holding a dark object in his hand.

After the officer approached and announced himself, the two began to struggle over the officer’s gun and the officer was shot in the arm, Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said.

At that point, the officer grabbed hold of his gun and shot the other man in self-defense, authorities said.

The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, spokesman Larry Merritt said.