A 13-year-old boy is responsible for this weekend’s mass shooting that left four children wounded as Chicago police tried to disperse a large gathering of young people in Bronzeville, authorities said.
More than 100 people, most of them teenagers and some preteens, had gathered near 47th Street and Martin Luther King Drive around 9 p.m. Saturday when the crowd began spilling into traffic. Officers moved in to contain and disperse the gathering, but the situation became increasingly disorderly, with people fighting, jumping on vehicles, and setting off fireworks, according to witnesses and video from the scene.
At approximately 9:39 p.m., the 13-year-old pulled out a handgun and opened fire into the crowd, according to police. Officers were already nearby and quickly located the victims near one another in the 4500 block of South Prairie Avenue.
Police provided few details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting, saying only that the boy fired into a group of people, striking four victims before fleeing the scene. Officers arrested him about 20 minutes later in the 4600 block of South Calumet Avenue.
An 11-year-old boy was shot in the left leg. Two 13-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy were also wounded. All four victims were listed in good condition at local hospitals Saturday night, according to police.
The 13-year-old shooter is charged with four counts of aggravated battery by discharging a firearm and two felony weapons possession charges. Because he is being prosecuted in juvenile court, authorities will not publicly release additional details about the allegations, his identity, or the outcome of the case.
