Mother of slain 10-year-old in ‘total shock,’ community activist says

A mother’s eyes are swollen shut from crying after the fatal shooting of a 10-year-old boy in the East Side neighborhood on the Far South Side, a community activist said.

Gustavo Garcia was in an SUV with a 31-year-old man at 11:13 p.m. Friday, traveling west in the 3500 block of East 97th Street, when a gray car pulled up next to them and someone inside opened fire, Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

The boy was shot in the back and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he died, authorities said. He lived in the South Chicago neighborhood. Members of his family have declined to comment.

However, community activist Andrew Holmes said the boy was approaching his birthday next month. Though he didn’t know Gustavo, he said he’s learned through the family that Gustavo loved playing video games, loved his classmates and looked forward to going back to Arnold Mireles Academy.

“He wasn’t an outside kid,” Holmes said. “He was homebound.”

Holmes is pleading with anyone with surveillance footage that might have captured the shooting to come forward. He said Gustavo’s mother “has no idea or knowledge” of what led to the incident. He said her eyes are nearly swollen shut from crying.

“She’s in shock,” Holmes said. “Total shock.”

The man inside the car with Gustavo was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after being shot in the back, face and chest, according to police.

Police have said no suspects are in custody.

Ten people have been killed, including Gustavo Garcia, and 42 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening.

Since the start of the year, 1,989 people have been shot in the city, 349 of them fatally, according to data maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Last weekend, two people were killed and 38 others were wounded in city gun violence.

The most recent fatal shooting happened about 3:20 a.m. Sunday in the South Shore neighborhood. A 23-year-old man was sitting in a parked vehicle in the 2100 block of East 71st Street when he was approached by two males who shot him in the chest and left arm, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died. The medical examiner’s office had not released his identity early Monday.

About two hours earlier, one man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. A male approached and shot the men while they were standing on the sidewalk in the 3900 block of West Arthington, police said. They were both taken to Stroger Hospital, where a 31-year-old man died after suffering a gunshot wound to the neck. The medical examiner’s office had not released his identity early Monday. A 32-year-old man was shot in the right leg, and his condition was stabilized.

A 58-year-old man was killed in a Princeton Park shooting about 4:15 p.m. Saturday on the Far South Side. Willie Cooper was outside when a vehicle pulled up to him in the 1100 block of West 95th Street and someone inside fired shots, authorities said. Cooper, who lived in the Fernwood neighborhood, was shot in his mouth and torso, and pronounced dead at the scene.

Earlier Saturday, a 60-year-old man was killed during an attempted robbery in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. Robert Sharpe was walking on the sidewalk at 4:55 a.m. in the 3200 block of West Franklin when an armed male confronted him and demanded his money, authorities said. The suspect then shot Sharpe in the left shoulder during a struggle before running away east on Franklin. Sharpe, of the West Garfield Park neighborhood, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:43 a.m., authorities said.

Another man was found shot to death about 40 minutes earlier in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Officers responded to a call of a person shot about 4:15 a.m. in the 4400 block of West Monroe and found a 20-year-old man lying in the street with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Late Friday, another East Side drive-by shooting left a man dead and another wounded. The two men, ages 49 and 54, were getting out of a vehicle at 10:43 p.m. in the 10600 block of South Green Bay Avenue when someone shot at them from a white SUV, according to Chicago Police. The younger man, identified as Michael Witford, was shot in the back and died at 11:35 p.m. at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. He lived on the same block as where the shooting happened.The older man was shot in the face and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said.

About 20 minutes earlier, 25-year-old David Marin was shot to death in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Marin was standing on the sidewalk in the 4600 block of South Washtenaw when someone fired at him from a silver SUV, authorities said. Marin, who lived in the Marquette Park neighborhood, was struck multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene.

About 6:05 p.m. Friday, one man was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting on the South Side. They were shot in the first block of West Pershing, near the former site of the Stateway Gardens public housing buildings, police said. All three men were taken to Stroger Hospital, where a 21-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and shoulder died. The medical examiner’s office had not released his name. A 19-year-old man’s condition was stabilized after being shot in his head and hand, and a 22-year-old man was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to his back.

A few minutes earlier, a 20-year-old man was fatally shot in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Cercy Robinson was shot in the chest in the 4500 block of West Jackson, authorities said. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The most recent nonfatal shooting happened about 1:50 a.m. Monday in the South Side Englewood neighborhood. A 26-year-old woman was sitting with a male in a parked car in the 4500 block of West Madison when he pulled out a handgun, police said. The male then shot her in the hand after she tired to disarm him. She was taken to Loretto Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.

At least 36 more people were shot across the city between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Monday.

Additionally, an 18-year-old man who allegedly was holding a gun in the back seat of a vehicle was shot by at least one Chicago Police officer early Sunday in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side, according to police. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where his condition had stabilized, police said. No officers were injured.

At least 36 more people were shot across the city between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Monday. Follow city violence this weekend with the Sun-Times shooting tracker.

Additionally, an 18-year-old man who allegedly was holding a gun in the back seat of a vehicle was shot by at least one Chicago Police officer early Sunday in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side, according to police. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where his condition had stabilized, police said. No officers were injured.