- Title: USA: Chicago shooting leaves 13 hurt, including 3-year-old
- Date: 20th September 2013
- Summary: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 19, 2013) (REUTERS) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (NIGHT SHOTS) POLICE AND SHOOTING VICTIMS ON BASKETBALL COURT VARIOUS OF INJURED PEOPLE, POLICE AND PARAMEDICS AT SHOOTING SCENE VARIOUS OF INJURED PEOPLE, POLICE AND PARAMEDICS AT SHOOTING SCENE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOSH, WITNESS SAYING: "Man I think it was an AK, there were a lot of shots man. It was like boom, boom, boom. I would say like nine, ten people got hit. A little kid got hit in the face. I don't know if he still alive. I don't know what's his condition." PERSON BEING CARRIED AWAY ON A STRETCHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACK, WITNESS SAYING: "I just heard the shots, like 20 shots and I just walked over here. Police came over real quick. They got here real fast." PERSON BEING CARRIED AWAY ON A STRETCHER POLICE AND PARAMEDICS AROUND INJURED MAN ON STRETCHER AMBULANCES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BEING CARRIED AWAY ON A STRETCHER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 19, 2013) (REUTERS) AMBULANCE AND POLICE CARS ON SCENE VARIOUS OF SHOOTING SCENE AND POLICE AMBULANCE VARIOUS OF SHOOTING SCENE AND POLICE
- Embargoed: 5th October 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA2RHEL7QVDTEK88F6SCKDP10RV
- Story Text: An apparent gang-related shooting spree on Chicago's South Side left 13 people wounded, including a 3-year-old child, police said on Friday. (September 20)
"At about 10:15pm thirteen people, including a three-year old were injured at a shooting at Cornell Square Park in the back of the Yards neighborhood. At this time all of the victims have received medical attention at area hospitals and all of the injuries are non-life threatening," Superintendent of Chicago Police Department Garry Mccarthy said.
Chicago has been struggling with gun violence for years, which hurt the city's reputation and put pressure for change on Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
No arrests have been made so far, officials said, adding that police believe the motive for the shooting was gang-related.
According to witnesses, gunfire rang out late Thursday as gunmen sprayed a basketball court with bullets in a park in the city's Ninth District.
"Man I think it was an AK, there were a lot of shots man. It was like boom, boom, boom. I would say like nine, ten people got hit. A little kid got hit in the face. I don't know if he still alive. I don't know what's his condition," one witness said, suggesting he thought an assault rifle had been used.
Video shows injured people lying on a basketball court and being carried out of the park on stretchers.
"I just heard the shots, like 20 shots and I just walked over here. Police came over real quick. They got here real fast," another witness added.
Police said that besides 3-year-old Deonta Howard, those injured ranged in age from 15 to 41.
Gun violence in Chicago led to more than 500 murders in 2012, according to a report this week by the FBI.
By comparison, New York City, with a population three times Chicago's, had 419 murders in 2012, the FBI said.
So far this year, the city's murder rate is down 22 percent from a year earlier. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has said recently that murders were down 45 percent in 20 neighborhoods targeted since February for additional police, including expanded use of foot patrols.
One Chicago murder this year that caught national attention was of Hadiya Pendleton, 15, an honor student killed at a park just days after she performed at a January presidential inauguration event in Washington.
Other notorious Chicago killings include the death of a 7-year-old girl last summer at her mother's candy stand and the shooting of a 6-month-old baby last March by a gang member who was aiming at her father.
Chicago's crime problem is just one of a host of issues plaguing Emanuel. The former White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama pledged to clean up the streets of the city after a successful, well-financed run for office in 2011. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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