In yet another American shooting rampage, this time in Chicago, 13 people, including a three-year-old boy, were injured on Thursday night. The boy and two teenagers were said to be in critical condition.
Coming close the heels of Monday’s mass shooting in Washington, two gun-toting men opened fire at people gathered on a basketball court in Chicago’s South Side in what was believed to be a gang-related shooting.
The boy was shot near the ear and the bullet exiting through his cheek, said reports citing police and relatives. A 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were also said to be in serious to critical condition as of Friday morning.
About 20 shots were fired by the two men, who escaped. “I was across the park and I heard the shots and I came over and there was a lot of people down. It happened so fast. They were just playing ball, like they do everyday,” a neighbour told Chicago Tribune.
Chicago is leading among American cities in gun violence, with more than 500 murders in 2012. An FBI report said the figure was about 80 more than New York and three times more people than Chicago.
While no arrests had been made yet, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said “the perpetrators will be brought to justice and prosecuted”. Earlier this year, a 15-year-old girl who had taken part in Obama’s second-term inauguration celebrations was shot in Chicago, after she had returned from Washington.