CHICAGO _ At least seven children have been wounded since the beginning of a long weekend in Chicago, in four separate shootings on the West and South sides, according to Chicago police.
Police said three of those shootings were accidental.
The most recent shooting happened about 12:15 p.m. Saturday in the Little Village neighborhood, police said.
According to police, a 14-year-old girl was in the company of a 15-year-old boy who was handling a weapon when it discharged, striking the girl in the cheek. She was taken in fair condition to Stroger Hospital, and the boy was placed in police custody.
Police said the shooting was accidental but were investigating to determine the circumstances leading up to it.
The first accidental shooting happened in the Lawndale neighborhood shortly before 8 p.m. Friday, when a 7-year-old girl gained access to a weapon and it discharged, striking an 11-year-old boy in the neck.
He was taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Friday, three young teens, two young men _ ages 18 and 20 _ and a 23-year-old woman were wounded when what appeared to be a Valentine's Day celebration spilled into the hallway at the Parkway Gardens apartment complex on the South Side, police said.
The 20-year-old man was shot in the face, chest and arm, and was taken in serious condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center. An 18-year-old man, who was shot multiple times in the leg, went to the same hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. A 15-year-old girl who suffered wounds to a leg and a foot also was being treated there.
A 14-year-old girl was in good condition with a wound to the leg at Stroger Hospital. Another 14-year-old girl who suffered wounds to the back, shoulder, leg and lower backside was in critical condition at Comer Children's Hospital, and a 23-year-old woman also was in critical condition at Stroger Hospital after being shot in the back, head, abdomen and shoulder, police said.
A weapon was found on the woman, but it was not clear if that weapon was used during the attack.
Less than two hours after the Parkway Gardens attack, an 8-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were accidentally shot by a juvenile male relative in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Police said the relative was playing with a weapon inside a residence. The boy was shot in the shoulder, and the girl suffered a graze wound to the arm. Both were taken in fair condition to Comer Children's Hospital.
Police said it was not clear where the gun came from or who was the owner.
