At least 14 people were wounded by gunfire on an unseasonably warm Thursday in Chicago.
The violence began about 1:15 p.m., when a 20-year-old man was shot in the 5500 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the Chicago Tribune reports. The man was taken to Saint Bernard Hospital, where he was listed in good condition. About 45 minutes later, a woman in her 30s was shot in the 5600 block of South Seeley Avenue -- just three miles west of the first shooting.
The shootings continued throughout the afternoon, primarily on the city's South and West sides.
About 2:50 p.m., three adults and a 14-year-old boy were wounded when a gunman approached them in the 200 block of North Kenneth Avenue and opened fire, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The boy was listed in "stable" condition early Friday, but a 24-year-old man was listed in serious condition West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park. The Sun-Times reports that an 18-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, also wounded in the Kenneth shooting, were listed in good condition.
About 3 p.m., two 25-year-old men were shot in a drive-by in the 3500 block of West Chicago Avenue, CBS Chicago reports. One of the victims was critically wounded in the attack and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. A white, older-model Chevrolet was reportedly spotted near the scene, and police are searching for the driver of the vehicle.
According to the Tribune, two people were shot about 11:45 p.m. just west of the Dan Ryan Expressway on 85th Street:
They were sitting in a vehicle when another dark-colored vehicle drove by and someone inside started shooting, police said.
Other shootings were reported in the 3600 block of West Lawrence Avenue, the 500 block of North Monticello Avenue and near 51st and Wood Streets.
Earlier this week, a 15-year-old boy was gunned down while sitting on his porch in the South Side's West Englewood neighborhood. Though the city's homicide rate was down overall in 2011, Englewood has seen a 40 percent increase in murders in their community.
Outspoken anti-violence advocate and Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Parish lashed out on Thursday about cuts to services in his South Side community, including the closing of a mental health clinic. Pfleger also discussed the elimination of programs for ex-offenders, summer teen jobs and crime victim support, CBS reports. He described the entire community as a "crime scene," and said residents are the victims who are being denied services they need the most.