April 30--A 12-year-old boy was shot in the chest while on his way to get a haircut in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side on Wednesday evening, according to police and family.
Dontrel Jones suffered wounds to his lung and armpit around 6:15 p.m. in the 5900 block of West North Avenue, police said.
He was taken to West Suburban Hospital and transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery early Thursday morning, his family said.
Police, citing preliminary information, said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between rival gangs, and it appeared Dontrel was with one of the groups.
But Dontrel's aunt Lakeisha Williams, 30, said her nephew was an innocent bystander.
Dontrel, a sixth-grader at Ella Flagg Young Elementary School, had attended an after-school program and was later dropped off by his great aunt near a barbershop to get a haircut, Williams said.
As Dontrel was walking on the sidewalk, he heard gunshots and ran to his cousin parked across the street, Williams said. The cousin took him to West Suburban.
"He didn't even realize he was shot at first," Williams said Wednesday evening outside Stroger Hospital, where Dontrel's family and friends gathered. "He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Williams said Dontrel and most of her family grew up in North Austin and have never been affected by gun violence before. Dontrel, whose mother died in a car accident, has four siblings, she said.
"I hope he is going to be okay," Williams said.
