CHICAGO _ At least 71 people were shot, 12 of them fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning in Chicago.
Ten of those shot were under the age of 18, but no children were killed. The youngest victims wounded were 10 and 11 years old, both shot in a daylight drive-by attack in the Gresham neighborhood on Sunday. The oldest people killed were 60 and 67 years old, in separate shootings.
The previous weekend, at least 64 people were shot and 11 of them died, according to data kept by the Tribune.
The two boys were among three people shot Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood, officials said.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the 8200 block of South Ada Street, a 10-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man were in front of a residence when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside the vehicle fired shots, police said.
The 10-year-old boy was wounded in the ankle and calf, and the 11-year-old boy was struck in the arm, police said. They were taken to Comer Children's Hospital in good condition, according to police.
Early Sunday, a man was killed and woman wounded in an attack on the Near North Side, just north of the Wabash Avenue Bridge.
Gregory Crawford, 35, of Maywood, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital soon after he was shot in the 300 block of North Wabash Avenue about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to authorities. The 25-year-old woman who had been with him in a car suffered two gunshot wounds to the left arm and was also taken to Northwestern, where she initially was in good condition.
Witnesses said the shooting happened while as many as a thousand people were drinking and hanging out by the riverfront on Wacker Drive. There were four to six shots, then people started running, according to a witness who asked not to be named.
A manager of at least one neighboring business recently asked authorities for assistance dispersing people from the impromptu gatherings, most often taking place after dark on hot weekend nights, because intoxicated individuals were harassing employees going home after their shift, said a law enforcement source who asked to remain anonymous. The manager said it appeared people, many with coolers of alcohol, were parking along Wacker Drive before setting up chairs near the riverfront, the source said.
A police spokeswoman, Maggie Huynh, said the Chicago Police Department recently learned from patrol officers that sizable groups were gathering near the river, but did not say whether business managers made a complaint. It wasn't clear when they first noticed the street parties, or when they began to assign additional officers to patrol that part of the Central District in response.
About 11:50 p.m. Sunday night, a group of people were on the street in the 11300 block of South Carpenter Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood when someone began firing shots toward them, police said.
A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and body, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and died soon after. He later was identified as Devonte Merrill of Country Club Hills, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
A 41-year-old man was shot in the back of the head and taken to Roseland Community Hospital in critical condition, police said. He was later pronounced dead and hadn't been identified Monday morning.
The shootings Sunday came after at least six people were killed and 25 people wounded in shootings from 7:30 p.m. Friday into early Saturday morning.
Five people were shot, one of them fatally, in just one attack about 3:15 a.m. Saturday in 1600 block of South Keeler Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood.
A 25-year-old man was hit in the chest. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Four others suffered gunshot wounds and also were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they were listed in good condition, police said.
The 67-year-old man killed was shot just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the 4900 block of West Hubbard Street in the Austin neighborhood, when a gunman in a vacant lot opened fire, striking him in the neck. He was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
