At Least 13 People Shot Since Friday In Chicago; Paramedics Dodge Gunfire

By Amy Cavanaugh in News on Jun 8, 2013 4:00PM

At least 13 people were shot in Chicago between Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning. Paramedics who happened upon a shooting on the West Side had to duck gunfire, but were uninjured.

The West Side shooting happened at 12:26 a.m. in the 3400 block of West Lake Street, near the Green Line “L” tracks and Garfield Park, authorities said.

An ambulance happened to be headed westbound on Lake Street at that time, and noticed some people crouching down behind cover, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

But when the paramedics heard gunshots, they realized they were approaching crossfire. They ducked and got to a safe place before calling for police backup, Langford said.

In addition to the two wounded on the West Side, a man was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in Sheridan Park, and a 25-year-old man was in critical condition after receiving multiple gunshot wounds on the 1200 block of West Sunnyside Avenue around 8 p.m.

Two teenage boys were also shot yesterday in separate incidents in the Cragin and South Shore neighborhoods.

One of the boys "was standing on the street in the 5000 block of West Henderson about 3:30 p.m. when a group of boys or men in a white SUV drove up."

The SUV stopped, and at least one person got out and shot at the boy, hitting him in the leg, said News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien. The SUV may have been a Chevrolet Blazer, O'Brien said, citing preliminary information.

The boy was believed to have shouted out slogans for a gang he belongs to as the SUV drove up, and those in the SUV belonged to a rival gang and shot him after he shouted the slogans, a police source said.

Three people were shot at around 7 p.m. in West Englewood, a man sustained multiple gunshot wounds at 8:18 p.m. in Gage Park and is in stable condition, and a 25-year-old with a gunshot wound to his ankle walked into West Suburban Medical Center. Two others were shot in their legs about 4:02 a.m. in Little Village, and the Tribune reports that an "upside down crown -- a gang symbol inverted and meant to show disrespect -- was painted on a dumpster across from where the two were shot. Police said both men were gang members who did not cooperate with investigators."