A 20-year-old man was fatally shot Oct. 13, 2021, in Austin. | Sun-Times file photo

The 20-year-old was standing outside in the 4800 block of West Crystal Street when someone in a passing vehicle fired shots, Chicago police said.

A man was killed Wednesday afternoon in a drive-by shooting in Austin on the West Side.

The 20-year-old was standing outside about 4:20 p.m. in the 4800 block of West Crystal Street when someone in a passing vehicle fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was struck in the chest and driven to West Suburban Medical Center where he later died, police said.

No was no one in custody.

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Chicago police on Wednesday announced murder charges against a man allegedly involved in the August fatal shooting of 7-year-old Serenity Broughton. | Provided by family

Chicago police on Wednesday announced murder charges against Aireaon Luster, who was allegedly involved in the August fatal shooting that led to an extraordinary battle against police and prosecutors.

Chicago police on Wednesday announced murder charges against a man allegedly involved in the August shooting that killed a 7-year-old girl and wounded her sister on the Northwest Side.

Aireaon Luster, 24, faces counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder following the Aug. 15 death of Serenity Broughton.

Luster was one of two gunmen who got out of a car in an alley in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue and began shooting, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan alleged Wednesday. Serenity and her sister Aubrey, 6, were sitting in a parked car when gunfire erupted.

Serenity was struck in the chest and later died at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Her younger sister was hit in the chest and armpit but survived.

A relative of the girls was believed to be the target of the shooting, law enforcement sources said at the time

Luster and the other gunman got back in the car, where a getaway driver was waiting, and left the scene, Deenihan said.

“We’re still asking for the public’s help,” Deenihan said, to help find the other two suspects.

Regina Broughton, the girls’ grandmother, said Wednesday evening that she was “elated” to hear the news that someone was charged in connection with her granddaughter’s death. She said her son called her Wednesday evening about two hours before the Chicago Police Department’s news conference.

Broughton relayed the news to Aubrey, telling her “they caught the [guy] who hurt you, they caught the [guy] who did this to you and took Serenity away.”

Aubrey responded by saying “OK” in a soft, coy tone and clapping her hands.

“I feel like my family are one step closer to getting justice,” Broughton said. “I feel like the justice system is working for us.”

The news comes a little over two weeks after the Sun-Times reported on a conflict with charging a suspect, setting off an extraordinary chain of events earlier that veteran court observers believe is unprecedented in recent history.

A high-ranking Chicago police commander, frustrated Cook County prosecutors rejected charging a suspect in the fatal shooting, went to a judge to have the suspect held in custody for longer and circumvent prosecutors to charge the man with murder and attempted murder. Hours later, top police brass reversed course — persuading the judge to essentially “uncharge” the suspect.

“We were getting down and we were feeling like there would be no justice and they came through,” Broughton said.

Now, after a draining two months, Broughton said her family feels like a large weight has been lifted off of them.

“The trial will be a long time coming, but I’m looking forward to it,” Broughton said. “I feel like a little bit of closure and justice has been served.”

Luster is due in court Thursday.

Contributing: Matthew Hendrickson and Tom Schuba

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Veteran Elijah Wilkinson (70, playing against the Rams in the season opener) has started 26 NFL games in five seasons. | Kyusung Gong/AP Photos

The veteran lineman, who replaced left tackle Jason Peters in Week 1, will replace right tackle Germain Ifedi vs. the Packers. Ifedi was put on IR with a knee injury, but is expected to return.

The Bears put right tackle Germain Ifedi on injured reserve after Ifedi suffered a knee injury in the second quarter against the Raiders. He will miss a minimum of three games on IR, but coach Matt Nagy said it was not a season-ending injury.

Veteran Elijah Wilkinson, who played the final 35 offensive snaps for Ifedi against the Raiders, will start against the Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field.

“I thought he did well,” Nagy said of Wilkinson, who has started 26 NFL games in his five-year career, including seven last season with the Broncos. “There’s a lot of evidence of him on tape doing some really good things — in particular in the run game and couple of times in the pass game. That’s a good part of having depth — you get a guy like him, and you have a few other guys as well, so it’s good.”

Outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu was put on IR with a season-ending torn pectoral muscle. Attaochu was playing 27 snaps a game behind Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn prior to the injury. Second-year linebacker Trevis Gipson, who has had a sack in the last two games, likely will get more snaps with Attaochu out.

Injury report

Wide receiver Allen Robinson did not practice Wednesday because of an ankle injury. Robinson addressed the media on Tuesday — usually a sign a player is going to participate in that week’s game.

Defensive end Akiem Hicks is the biggest concern on the Bears’ injury list. Hicks, who did not play against the Raiders because of a groin injury, did not practice Wednesday and Nagy did not address his injury situation with the media prior to practice.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack (foot) did not practice but is expected to play against the Packers. Tight ends Jimmy Graham (rest) and J.P. Holtz (quad) and reserve linebacker Caleb Johnson also did not practice.

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney (groin), running back Damien Williams (foot/knee) and reserve linebacker Christian Jones (back) were limited.

Ogletree vs. Trevathan

Gipson’s emergence the past two weeks eases the pain of losing Attaochu. The depth at inside linebacker is strong as well, with Alec Ogletree starting ahead of veteran Danny Trevathan, who returned from IR after recovering from a knee injury. Ogletree played 35 snaps against the Raiders. Trevathan played 10.

“It’s a good problem when you have a guy like Ogletree able to step in in his absence,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “Ogletree has been playing some really good football for us and doing everything we ask of him.

“But getting DT [Trevathan] back, that’s always huge. Not only is he a phenomenal player but he’s a smart guy. A lot of guys look up to him. He’s a leader of this team.”

Sack attack

The Bears lead the NFL in sacks per pass play after getting three sacks against the Raiders – from Mack, Tashaun Gipson and Trevis Gipson. The Bears also are eighth in yards allowed, eighth in rushing yards allowed and tied for seventh in points allowed after five games.

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Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Escareno agreed to come out of her recent retirement to oversee the Chicago Park District, still in the midst of an investigation into rampant sexual harassment and abuse against lifeguards at the city’s beaches and pools.

The board of the scandal-ridden Chicago Park Department has tapped a popular City Hall veteran to take the helm amid sexual misconduct investigations until a permanent replacement for ousted CEO Michael Kelly is named.

Rosa Escareno agreed to come out of her recent retirement as commissioner of the department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to oversee the parks department, still in the midst of an investigation into rampant sexual harassment and abuse against lifeguards at the city’s beaches and pools.

Kelly, 50, was forced out over the weekend for his role in mishandling that investigation, ending his decade-long career at the park district and becoming one of about 40 employees disciplined in the ongoing probe.

He had been told late Friday to resign from his $230,000-a-year position, board president Avis LaVelle said at the conclusion of Monday’s two-hour closed door meeting of parks commissioners — or else be fired for cause.

LaValle said she suspended Kelly Friday night, a fact she did not share following hours of meeting privately with other commissioners to hear a report by an outside attorney who took over the investigation after the inspector general had to resign when her past ethics problems came to light. That report has not been made public.

“Superintendent Kelly is not accused of sexual assault or harassment, but he is guilty of deceit and failing to take critical steps to promote the zero tolerance standards that must replace this frat boy culture that has been allowed to flourish here for too long,” said LaVelle, who has resisted calls from City Council members to step down. “As a board we thank Supt. Kelly for the work he did here … but he failed on one of the most fundamental tasks, which is protecting our employees and our patrons.”

“We the Chicago Park District board of commissioners remain committed to seeking the truth about the culture of tolerance that’s been allowed to flourish here and we will continue to do whatever it takes to root out and destroy that culture,” she said.

Escareno vowed to “support the ongoing progress and improvement of what needs to be done at the parks right now.

“There needs to be some serious conversations and serious review of existing processes to ensure that we continue to regain the trust of the people of Chicago, in that employees will look to the park district as a great place to work also feel that it’s a place that protects them and will look out for them,” she said.

A permanent inspector general also still must be named.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Michael Kelly, who resigned last weekend from his post as superintendent of the Chicago Park District, speaks in August about the disciplinary action taken against employees in the Beaches and Pools Unit during a press conference at the South Shore Beach House.

As the district continues to deal with a scandal that victimized women working as lifeguards at the city’s parks and beaches, the choice of Escareno is a political masterstroke — even if it’s only temporary.

She is likable and experienced. Her track record in city government is impressive and her personal history is compelling; she was brought to Chicago at age 8 from Mexico by a widowed mother of six.

Her city jobs under four mayors ranged from administrative assistant and deputy press secretary to deputy chief operating officer and director of media relations for the Chicago Fire Department during a tumultuous year that high-rise training and firefighting techniques were revamped to prevent a repeat of mistakes that contributed heavily to six deaths at the Cook County Administration Building at 69 W. Washington St. on Oct. 17, 2003.

On July 31, Escareno finally ended a remarkable, 30-year-plus career that began straight out of high school, as an administrative assistant in the Office of Budget and Management.

Her rise was a glaring exception in for a city government known for the slogan, “We don’t want nobody that nobody sent.”

The question now is whether Escareno is interested in filling Kelly’s shoes on a permanent basis or whether she is there, only on a temporary basis.

In a statement, Lightfoot described Escareno as “the right leader for this moment to bring confidence back into our Park District and to ensure it continues to provide crucial services to our community.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Oak Street Beach in August.

The mayor has told associates the lifeguard scandal is so pervasive, nothing short of a “house-cleaning” at the Chicago Park District will give parents the confidence to send their kids to its camps and programs or have their older children feel safe enough to work in the parks.

If that happens, Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th), who worked his way up the ranks at the Chicago Park District, has made it known that he wants the job. His father and namesake was an all-purpose troubleshooter for former Mayor Richard M. Daley and once served as Park Board president.

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Seth Jones will make his official Blackhawks debut Wednesday against the Avalanche. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Jones, who fell in love with hockey as a kid in Denver, and Borgstrom, who blossomed at the University of Denver, both fittingly played their first Hawks games Wednesday against the Avalanche.

DENVER — Seth Jones just missed crossing paths Tuesday with his dad, Popeye Jones.

The Blackhawks’ bumpy flight from Chicago to Denver landed not long after the Nuggets’ flight — with Popeye, an assistant coach, on board — departed for an NBA preseason game in Oklahoma City.

But Jones still expected a number of family and friends to be in attendance for the Hawks’ regular-season opener Wednesday against the Avalanche.

“[It’s] definitely special, seeing family and having people that you grew up with come to the games,” he said. “Here and Dallas, [with] my mom and grandma there…will always be special places for me.”

After all, Ball Arena — formerly the Pepsi Center — is “kind of where it all started” for Seth Jones.

He was five years old during the 1999-2000 season when Popeye, then a player for the Nuggets, approached then-Avs star Joe Sakic for advice on getting his kids into hockey. And he was six years old when he watched in-person as the Avs won Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final.

“It’s coming full circle, which is pretty cool,” he said.

University of Denver alumni Henrik Borgstrom and Ian Mitchell also experienced full-circle moments Wednesday, and in even rarer fashion: Borgstrom made just his second NHL appearance in Denver and Mitchell made his very first. (For Jones, it was his 10th.)

Borgstrom and Mitchell wanted to make the six-mile trip south from downtown to visit campus together Tuesday, but the Hawks’ flight didn’t arrive early enough for that, either.

Still, perhaps the fact Borgstrom’s first Hawks game will take place in Colorado is fitting, considering how the organization hopes he can rediscover his collegiate dominance and creativity this season after flopping two years ago with the Panthers.

“It’s nice to come back here, and kind of crazy to start the season here in Denver,” Borgstrom said. “But it’s a different type of hockey [in the NHL versus NCAA]. Players are better here. I can’t do all the things on the ice that I was able to do in college.”

Borgstrom will have an immediate opportunity to prove himself on the Hawks’ new, ultra-young third line. The Hawks moved him from center, his natural position, to wing to fit him into that top-nine spot alongside Kirby Dach and Brandon Hagel.

“I love his skating,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “He’s really trying to do the right thing, and he’s been rewarded for it — [not only] with production but also he’s created a lot of chances.

“Playing him on the wing allows…[him to] give Kirby some support both down low and on faceoffs.”

Defensive strategy

After experimenting throughout the preseason, Colliton settled on Calvin de Haan with Seth Jones and Jake McCabe with Connor Murphy as his top two defensive pairs for Wednesday’s opener.

The idea is McCabe and Murphy can tackle the toughest assignments against opposing team’s first lines, which will “free up Seth to be a little more active” offensively against slightly less dangerous competition.

“The way it is now, that’s how they complement each other the best,” Colliton said. “[But] that’s not to say that it’s going to stay that way [all season].”

Newly signed Erik Gustafsson was healthy-scratched defenseman Wednesday because the Hawks are still waiting for his immigration paperwork to process. Dylan Strome, for whom the trade rumors are quickly picking up, and Adam Gaudette were the scratched forwards.

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A teenage boy was shot Oct. 13, 2021, in Englewood. | Sun-Times file photo

He was outside about 4 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Green Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the shoulder, Chicago police said.

A 16-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting Wednesday in Englewood on the South Side.

He was outside about 4 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Green Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the shoulder, Chicago police said.

The teen was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, police said.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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Fields’ passer rating has gone up with every start, topping out at 91.9 in the win over the Raiders last week. | Getty

Fresh out of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, Fields believes he has at least a little bit of an idea of what to expect. But he’ll likely be fighting this battle a lot longer than he sparred with the Wolverines.

As rookie quarterback Justin Fields settles into the starting job for the Bears, it’s becoming clearer that his calm, unflinching demeanor is authentic. He’s not trying to put on a stone-faced front just for show.

Nothing jostles him out of that mentality, so it was perfectly predictable that he’d remain almost expressionless as he discussed his upcoming foray into the NFL’s most storied rivalry. Fields was virtually indifferent toward the Packers, sounding the same while talking about them as he did the Browns, Lions and Raiders over the last few weeks.

It should not be misinterpreted as disinterest or disrespect. It’s just how he is, and it’s one of his best qualities amid the chaos of the NFL.

“I haven’t noticed an ounce of change in him in the last couple of days,” coach Matt Nagy said. “I don’t ever think that is going to change. That’s a huge strength of his.

“When you have a loss like we had versus Cleveland or you have a win like we just had against the Raiders, you can’t tell a difference. That’s a pretty good deal there.”

It’s also a pretty good deal for Nagy that Fields is even available for this game after his left knee bent backward gruesomely against the Raiders. He hyperextended it and was still experiencing pain Wednesday, but was a full participant in practice and said, “I’ll be good by Sunday.”

Fields didn’t say much about the rivalry — “I’m pretty familiar with it,” he said, then looked around for the next question — other than a few compliments for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and some memories from playing in a parallel matchup against Michigan when he starred at Ohio State.

He didn’t even smirk when a reporter cracked a joke that the Bears are the Michigan of this rivalry, having lost four in a row and 21 of the last 25.

In his only appearance in The Big Game, Fields and Ohio State womped Michigan 56-27 in 2019 as he threw four touchdown passes. When asked about his favorite part of experiencing that rivalry, he paused and said, “Probably beating them.”

Nobody around Halas Hall has made any smart remarks like that about the Packers since the mid-2000s, when the Bears enjoyed a run of beating them seven times in five seasons. Jay Cutler went 2-12 (including a playoff loss) after that, then Mitch Trubisky went 1-6.

Making up for all those losses is a lot to ask of Fields in his fourth start, but like many other aspects of his job, playing big-time college football gave him a valuable preview of what it’d be like.

“I wouldn’t say it totally prepares me for this, but I have a pretty good idea of what a big rivalry game looks like,” he said. “Trash talk before the game, in warm-ups, fans talking trash and stuff like that — I always enjoyed that. Hearing what they say and the nonsense coming out of their mouths always gave me a good laugh.”

Oh, so he does laugh sometimes.

It’s been hard to even call Bears-Packers a rivalry with a straight face lately given how frequently and emphatically Green Bay has won, and punching their way back into it is the first step toward respectability for the Bears.

Regardless of whether Fields realizes or admits it, that’s part of the responsibility he inherited when the Bears chose him as their franchise quarterback. And unlike his cameo in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, he might spend the rest of his career fighting in this one.

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Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won 20 regular-season games against the Bears. | Tony Avelar, AP Photos

“I’ve always enjoyed the city, enjoyed the fans — even though they haven’t enjoyed me,” Rodgers said.

Aaron Rodgers likes to go on long walks the night before football games. In Chicago, those trips start at the Packers team hotel and often end, eventually, at Mastro’s for dinner.

One year, the quarterback ran into a mother and son on the street. Despite Rodgers being bundled up, they recognized him and walked with him for four or five blocks.

Bears fans haven’t often been cordial to Rodgers — “I don’t think they’re very happy with me … but I respect that,” he told Green Bay reporters Wednesday — but these two were lovely.

“I’ve always enjoyed the city, enjoyed the fans — even though they haven’t enjoyed me,” Rodgers said. “I get it. Maybe there’ll be a little more love when my time comes to an end playing here.”

That could be soon. Rodgers could be in the middle of his “Last Dance” with the Packers after a contentious offseason in which his representatives lobbied for a trade. If he were to leave this offseason — be via agency or a trade — Rodgers knows he won’t end up in Chicago. He doesn’t really need to say it out loud.

“It’s just not going to happen,” he said.

The Bears are happy with rookie quarterback Justin Fields and would undoubtedly be thrilled to see Rodgers leave the division — or retire. Rodgers is 20-4 against the Bears in regular-season games that he both started and finished. The Packers lost at home to the Bears in 2013 when, two-and-a-half minutes into the game, Shea McClellin broke the quarterback’s collarbone.

Leading up to what could be his last game at Soldier Field as a member of the Packers, Rodgers was complimentary of a place he called a “great sports town.” He fell in love with Chicago sports the way many across the country did as children — on WGN, where he watched Bulls and Cubs games from his Northern California living room.

“I naturally became a fan,” he said.

He won’t find many fans of him in the city, though.

“Definitely had some battles, some cold-weather battles, some miserable games,” Rodgers said.

He began rattling them off: the 2015 Thanksgiving game at Lambeau Field that was played in a downpour; the game played at Soldier Field two days before Christmas 2007 with a -18 wind chill; and the “Monday Night Football” game at Soldier Field, almost a year later to the day, with a -13 wind chill.

All were Bears wins.

He kept listing games: in 2016, the Bears and Packers played in 10-degree weather, the fifth-coldest Bears home game ever. And then there’s the NFC title game in Jan 2011, where the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl in 7-degree weather.

“Some great players in those games,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play against, play with, love the stadium down there. It’s a great venue. They’ve done a better job with the grass over the last few years.”

In 2007, he said, Rodgers and his teammates walked onto the Soldier Field turf, took a step and found their feet made a “10-inch indentation in the grass.” He wondered how they were supposed to play in such conditions.

“But that’s just part of the rivalry …” he said. “Been some fun ones over the years.”

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Johneece Cobb speaks about gun violence at schools with reporters outside St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“She said, ‘Tell everybody thank you,'” her grandmother Johneese Cobb said Wednesday morning. “Please tell the shooter to turn himself in.”

A 14-year-old girl shot and seriously wounded at a Bronzeville high school was recovering Wednesday in an intensive care unit, where she thanked well-wishers and called on the shooter to turn himself in.

“She said, ‘Tell everybody thank you,'” her grandmother Johneese Cobb said Wednesday morning. “Please tell the shooter to turn himself in.”

Cobb echoed her granddaughter’s plea during an emotional news conference at St. Sabina’s Church.

“These are babies shooting babies. I’m assuming this baby that shot my baby is crying for help. I want to tell him that God will help you if you ask for it,” she said.

“I understand that maybe you’re in some pain, baby, and maybe you’re hurt, and I understand that,” Cobb said. “I’m hurting too. My grandbaby is in a lot of pain,” she said. “Maybe you feel bad enough to call up here and speak to Father [Michael Pfleger] and say, ‘Help me, I want to make this right.’ I advise you, baby, to do that.”

The gunman was waiting outside Wendell Phillips Academy and opened fire as a security guard opened a door to let students out around 3:15 p.m., according to police.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Evidence technicians note a mark on a door where it was struck by a bullet after a 14-year-old girl and a security guard were both shot Tuesday afternoon outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the 3800 block of South Giles in Bronzeville.

Cobb said her granddaughter was shot twice while in the doorway. “She was inside the school on her way out to meet her mother when the shots rang out,” she said. “They went through the door and they hit her. The door slowed those bullets down and saved my baby’s life.”

The guard was also hit by gunfire and is also recovering. Cobb said she believed he tried to shield the students. “I think that man was trying to save those babies and he took those bullets,” she said.

The girl underwent surgery Tuesday evening at Comer Children’s Hospital, Cobb said. “Her color is back in her face. … She’s stabilized, she’s going to make a full recovery. There’s no major damage to her organs.”

A bullet remains lodged in the girl’s lower abdomen, she said.

Cobb described her granddaughter as “a sheltered child, a little bitty fun-loving child. She’s so shy, she’s so innocent, y’all. She’s a good kid and helped raise her siblings. Really in the house all the time. So her first year of high school was her way of getting out of the house.

“She was shot at school, where she was supposed to be,” Cobb said. “Right now, I’m so grateful to God that my grandbaby will live and do great things. Keep praying, y’all.”

Speaking at an unrelated news conference Wednesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez called the shooting “tragic.”

“It’s concerning to me that it got this close, as our children were coming out at the exit door,” he said. “It is something that, frankly, it’s a community challenge that we have to address. And what I would say is it can’t be the schools by themselves. It really can’t.

“This is something I’m going to need help from the community, I’m going to need help. The mayor’s already shared with me that we’re going to work together and with all the agencies to look at this.”

Martinez said a crisis team was at the school Wednesday to help students and staff deal with their trauma.

Phillips was one of a handful of schools that opted to remove its two in-school officers last year. District records show the high school still employed six unarmed security guards, including the one who was shot. It’s unclear whether they could have prevented the shooting, however, since they don’t always stand outside during a dismissal and activists note their presence has not always deterred shooters in other situations.

Pfleger said he and others were putting up a $5,500 reward for arrest of the shooter.

‘Give the city a soul again’

Pfleger also called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a state of emergency and come up with a plan on “how we’re going to stop this. It just keeps getting worse.”

“Give the city a soul again,” he said, addressing both Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “Let’s rebuild lives, let’s rebuild this city.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Father Michael Pfleger speaks about reducing crime with a reporter at St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021.

At least 162 children 15 years old and younger have been shot in Chicago so far this year, a 24% increase over the number of children shot over the same period last year, according to Sun-Times data.

In September, two 15-year-old students from Simeon Career Academy were shot and killed on the same day in separate attacks, one of them not far from the South Side campus.

BRAVE, the violence prevention youth council of St. Sabina, is circulating a petition urging Pritzker to declare a state of emergency.

“How many children, how many lives before we say it’s a state of emergency? We are at a state of emergency now,” Pfleger said. “And I believe that the governor is cautious, doesn’t want to embarrass the city or, you know, overstep the city. I don’t care about feelings anymore.

“I don’t care who’s embarrassed, I don’t care who’s hurt,” he said. “My reality is, is that we are right now at a state of emergency that needs to be called with a plan and a strategy that’s going to be enacted for this city to deal with this violence because it keeps getting worse and worse and worse.”

Pfleger also called on the city to allocate more resources toward mental health programs to help children deal with the trauma of violence.

“Imagine all those kids at Phillips right now, how traumatized they are by one of their freshman being shot at the school, their security guard being shot,” he said. “And this is throughout the South and the West sides. The trauma that’s suffered by families, by whole communities, by whole neighborhoods. We’re not dealing with it.”

Contributing: Nader Issa

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One person was killed and four others wounded in a drive-by shooting Sunday morning on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. They were among more than 40 people shot over the holiday weekend. | Sophie Sherry/Sun-Times

Teanius Sykes, 35, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, reckless discharge of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.

A West Side man was one of four gunmen involved in a shootout outside a Wicker Park nightclub that left one shooter dead and four bystanders injured, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.

“It just shocks the conscience that any dispute now, it appears, is handled with bullets,” Judge John F. Lyke Jr. said at Teanius Sykes’ bond hearing.

“Irrespective of what happened in that club, it’s settled with shots going in both direction… Innocent people going about their daily lives subjected to dodging bullets and praying they don’t get hit.”

Two pairs of men shot at each other outside The Point, in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Sunday morning, according prosecutors, who did not say what precipitated the gunfight.

Sykes, 35, was standing near an open door of his girlfriend’s car around 3:40 a.m. when his girlfriend’s cousin, Raymond R. Jones, allegedly opened fire at a group of people outside the venue.

Someone from the group returned fire, striking 32-year-old Jones, of Champaign, in the chest as he fell between two parked cars, authorities said.

Another person standing next to Jones was also hit, prosecutors said.

Twenty seconds after the first volley of gunfire, Sykes went into the car of his girlfriend, who is a security guard, and took her handgun from the glovebox, prosecutors said. Sykes was then was captured on surveillance video shooting into the crowd by The Point, prosecutors said. Someone from the crowd returned fire, prosecutors said.

One woman, who was walking nearby, was shot in her shoulder as she ran for cover behind a car during the second volley of shots, prosecutors said. One of two people who exited a vehicle after the first round of gunfire and saw Sykes start shooting, was hit in the leg, prosecutors said.

An additional victim suffered a gunshot wound to her right leg and was treated and released at Stroger Hospital, prosecutors said.

Police recovered 13 shell casings from the gun Sykes used and 17 casings from the three other guns, prosecutors said.

Detectives were able to trace the plates of Sykes’ girlfriend’s car and confronted the couple at their home, where police found the 9mm gun used in the shooting on a coffee table, prosecutors said.

The two shooters near the entrance of the club have not been identified, prosecutors said.

Sykes did not instigate the shooting and may have acted in self-defense, his lawyer said.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Sykes told Lyke that he is a single parent raising two children. He said their mother passed away in 2016.

Lyke ordered Sykes held without bail.

Sykes has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, reckless discharge of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.

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