At least five people were wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon in Gresham on the South Side, hours after five people were shot on the West Side.
The group was on a sidewalk near a food mart at 79th and Justine streets when a silver car pulled out of an alley and three gunmen got out shortly after noon, Chicago police spokeswoman Michelle Tannehill said.
The trio opened fire, striking four men and a woman, she said.
- Two of the victims were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn: A 27-year-old woman grazed in the hip and in good condition, and a 40-year-old man shot in the face and in critical condition.
- Two others were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center: A 32-year-old man shot in the lower back and listed in critical condition, and a 50-year-old man shot in the side and also in critical condition.
- A fifth person, a 36-year-old man, was shot in the ankle and initially refused treatment on the scene, but he later went to Christ Medical Center and was listed in good condition,
The shooting occurred across the street from the Target DevCorp Auburn Gresham Community Outreach Center, an anti-violence organization.
Autry Phillips, executive director of Target DevCorp, said his team was just starting their shift when the shooting happened.
He said the spot where the people were shot is a “hangout for individuals that don’t work or that’s off work and just needed to blow off some steam so they’re coming outside. It’s a nice day, why not come outside and hang out on the block?”
He said the victims are not gang members and were not hurting anyone. “Unfortunately someone made the decision to pull the trigger,” he said.
Phillips said his team was now working in the community to prevent any retaliation. “What we try to do first to to try to make sure the families are okay.”
Phillips said it was troubling that the shooting happened so close to his organization, but added that these attacks can happen anywhere in the city. “At any time at any place, anyone in Chicago can get hit” he said. “We have shootings that’s next to the Chicago Police Department, we have shootings that’s next to schools.”
Earlier Wednesday, four women and a man were shot as they stood in the 4600 block of West Monroe Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. The victims, all between ages 18 and 34, were listed in good condition.
There have been at least 31 shootings this year involving four or more victims, according to a Sun-Times analysis.
The largest mass shooting this year, and among the largest in recent memory, wounded 15 people, two fatally, during a party in the Park Manor neighborhood. A fight broke out between several people attending the party March 14 in the 6700 block of South South Chicago Avenue when gunfire erupted, police said then. Fifteen people were struck, ranging in age from 20 to 44 years old.
In July 2020, 15 people were shot outside a Gresham funeral home, but none of the victims died.
