42 shot — 5 killed — in weekend gun violence

Weekend shootings across Chicago left five people dead and at least 38 wounded.

The weekend, which began 5 p.m. Friday and ended 5 a.m. Monday, left nine people shot Friday, 15 shot Saturday, 12 shot Sunday and six people shot Monday.

In a single shooting Friday, three children, ages 10 to 14, were among four people wounded in the West Side Lawndale neighborhood. About 8 p.m., the children and a 20-year-old man were gathered with other people outside in the 1100 block of South Troy Street when two people down the street fired into the crowd, according to Chicago Police.

One of the children, a 14-year-old boy, was in critical condition after he was shot in his head, police said. A 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old were also treated for gunshot wounds. Detectives had not determined who was the intended target of the shooting.

Also on Friday, a shootout in Uptown wounded a teenager. The 15-year-old boy was walking with several people about 7:45 p.m. in the 4500 block of North Sheridan when an SUV pulled up and someone inside opened fire at the group, police said.

Multiple people in the boy’s group fired shots back at the SUV, according to police. The boy was shot in the leg and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. A weapon was recovered at the scene.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A man was shot to death early Saturday on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side. Authorities were called about 12:15 a.m. to the inbound lanes of the inbound Dan Ryan at 25th Street and found 23-year-old Shaquille Dirkans in a vehicle on the shoulder of the road, the Chicago Fire Department and the medical examiner’s office said.

Dirkens was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy Saturday found he died of a gunshot wound to the neck, according to authorities. He lived in Markham.

Monday morning, a teenage boy was shot during a robbery in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. About 2:20 a.m., the 14-year-old was standing in a backyard in the 4400 block of Van Buren Street when three males approached him a demanded the boy’s valuables, police said.

The boy said he didn’t have anything and an armed person opened fire, according to police. The teen was shot in both of his legs and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition stabilized.

Last weekend, 44 people were shot and 7 were killed in city shootings.