Not a mass shooting worthy of nationwide attention or use as a rallying cry to take down the Confederate Flag.
Via Chicago Tribune
A 7-year-old boy and two men were killed overnight and at least 27 other people were injured during an 8-hour stretch that started not long after dark.
Someone opened fire in the 1100 block of North Harding Street about 11:55 p.m., hitting the 7-year-old boy and a 26-year-old woman.
The boy was with his father after spending the day at his grandmother’s house at a July 4th celebration.
The boy was hit in the right side of the chest and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
His grandmother, Vedia Hailey, said she learned about the shooting when she got a phone call from her daughter — Amari’s mother — who had spoken to his father.
“It’s crazy. Who would shoot a 7-year-old in the chest?” Hailey, 52, said in an incredulous tone as tears streamed down her face early Sunday outside Stroger Hospital. “Who would do that to a baby? When is it going to stop?”
He was later pronounced dead, according to police.
The woman was hit in the chest and was also taken to Stroger where her condition stabilized.
Police officers blocked off an intersection of Harding Avenue and Thomas Street with yellow and red tape. The crime scene extended half block on Harding north of Thomas.
Several neighbors gathered at each side of the scene, watching police officers.
Hollie Williams, 38, a nearby resident, walked up to the yellow tape, wondering if a friend who lived on the block was the one who got shot.
She said she was washing dishes in the kitchen when her 9-year-old son ran in, scared, saying he heard gunshots.
“I didn’t even hear anything with all the fireworks,” Williams said. “I was shocked he knew the difference between gunshots and fireworks.”
Update:
Via Chicago Tribune:
Shootings over the Fourth of July weekend left 10 people dead and 54 others wounded, a toll lower than last year but one marked by an intense stretch of gun violence over eight hours on one of the nights.
Among those killed was 7-year-old Amari Brown, shot in the chest as he watched fireworks near his father’s home in Humboldt Park late Saturday night. Police say they believe the attack was aimed at the father, whom they described as a ranking gang member.
Also gunned down was 17-year-old Vonzell Banks, who was shot as he played basketball Friday at a park named for Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student fatally shot in 2013 near President Barack Obama’s Chicago home.