Boy Killed, Father Wounded In South Side Shooting

By Anna Deem in News on Dec 12, 2009 7:30PM

Aston Wise, 11, of the 6800 block of South East End Avenue, was killed Friday night when someone opened fire with a shotgun while he was in a vehicle with his father, police said. His father, 42, was wounded and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but is expected to survive. Wise was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Wise and his father were shot at about 8:25pm near East 78th Street and South Kingston Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood, when the shooter approached their parked vehicle and opened fire. The father drove the car to the 1800 block of East 79th Street, where he crashed into two parked cars and a day care center, which was unoccupied at the time. Choir members of the Church of Living Faith, a neighbor of the day care center, witnessed the aftermath of the shooting.

"We didn't hear anything because the music was loud, but we came out and we saw the red tape," said Juanita Shelby, a choir member, to the Chicago Tribune.

Police believe the victims were not the targets and that the gunman may have been a relative of Wise and his father. The relative, who has gang affiliations, was questioned on Friday night, but not arrested in connection with the shooting. Authorities could not provide a description of the gunman.