A total of 11 minors were shot over Valentines’s Day weekend, beginning on Friday, Feb. 14, according to multiple reports. During this time, more than 26 people—including the 11 minors—were injured.
According to CNN, the shootings took place from 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday, and out of the injured individuals, both minors and adults, three of them were fatal. CNN reported that none of the shootings that resulted in deaths were minors.
Friday
On Friday, an 11-year-old boy was shot by his seven-year-old sister in the Lawndale neighborhood, located on Chicago’s north side, according to ABC Chicago. Police arrived at the location of the shooting at around 7:50 p.m., at the 3100 both of West Fillmore Street. They ruled the shooting as an accident.
According to the news outlet, the two children somehow got access to a gun in the home they were at, and the seven-year-old was wielding the weapon when it went off, the bullet hitting her 11-year-old brother in the neck. The boy was in a critical to serious condition and was quickly taken to the Stroger Hospital for treatment.
Authorities were not aware whether there was someone else in the home where the two children were at the time of the shooting, and the police are conducting an investigation.
Chicago Sun-Times reported that on Friday night, in Parkway Gardens, six people were shot while at a gathering at an apartment. Among the six injured, three of them were minors.
The three injured were a 14-year-old with gunshot wounds on her back, shoulder, and lower backside; a 15-year-old with gunshot wounds to her leg and feet; and another 14-year-old with a gunshot wound to her leg, according to the news outlet. Police said that the three young individuals were in serious-to-critical condition at the time of their admittance to the hospital. The former two individuals were taken to the Comer Children’s Hospital, whereas the latter 14-year-old was taken to the Stroger Hospital.
Saturday
CNN reported that a little past midnight into Saturday, another minor got access to a gun and was playing with the firearm when it went off, the bullet striking two other minors—an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old girl. The boy was hit in the shoulder while the girl’s arm was grazed. Both children were taken to the hospital, and are in fair condition. Both are expected to make a full recovery, according to the news outlet. This incident is also under investigation.
At an unknown time on Saturday, a 15-year-old was wielding a firearm in an area between Little Village and Marshall Square when the gun went off, the bullet injuring a 14-year-old in the cheek, according to CNN. Authorities were able to transport her to the Cook County Health, where she remains in fair condition. The 15-year-old boy was taken into custody.
A little before 5 p.m., a 16-year-old was struck by a bullet while walking near Palmer Park. CNN reported that someone inside a passing vehicle opened fire, shooting the 16-year-old in the left thigh. The 16-year-old was transported to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition.
Sunday
Around 2:30 p.m., on Sunday, a 17-year-old was in a vehicle traveling along the Midway International Airport when another vehicle pulled alongside the 17-year-old’s vehicle and shot the teen in the face. The 17-year-old managed to drive himself to Christ Hospital and is in fair condition, according to CNN. An investigation is being conducted into this incident.
In another part of the city, a 16-year-old was hit in the leg by a bullet while walking. Someone in a black sedan had opened fire according to the news outlet. Authorities transported the teen to the Stroger Hospital in fair condition. An investigation is also being conducted into this incident.
Monday
A 17-year-old and a 19-year-old were walking when a tan SUV approached the two. There were three men in the SUV at the time. They asked the teens whether they wanted to buy drugs, which they declined, prompting someone inside the SUV to shoot at them. The 17-year-old was shot in the foot, according to CNN. She was taken to the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and is in good condition. An investigation is being conducted into the incident, but no one was taken into custody.
