14-year-old boy among 9 shot, 2 fatally, in Tuesday gun violence

Police crime scene

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A 14-year-old boy was among nine people shot, two fatally, in separate shootings Tuesday on the city’s South and West sides.

A 20-year-old man was shot to death at 8:17 p.m. in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. He was standing on the sidewalk in the 4700 block of South Prairie when someone opened fire. He was shot in the abdomen and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Chicago Police. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not released the man’s identity, pending notification of his family.

Shortly before 1 p.m., another man was shot to death in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Jonathan Gavina, 26, was shot in the head and side and found in the driver’s seat of a parked car in the 3400 block of West 61st Street, police and the medical examiner’s office said. A witness told investigators they saw a dark-colored SUV pull away after the shooting. Gavina, who lived in the Archer Heights neighborhood, was pronounced dead at the scene less than 30 minutes later.

The 14-year-old boy was wounded in the day’s latest shooting, which happened at 11:07 p.m. in another Chicago Lawn neighborhood attack. He was a passenger in a stolen gray Scion in the 6000 block of South Whipple when someone in a black vehicle fired shots, striking him in the chest, police said. The girl driving the Scion then crashed it into a building in the 6100 block of South Kedzie. The boy was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized. Police said the girl, whose exact age was not provided, was in custody early Wednesday.

About 10 p.m., a 32-year-old man was driving east in the 4000 block of West North Avenue on the West Side when someone fired shots from a black car, police said. The man suffered a graze wound to the neck and subsequently crashed his vehicle into a parked vehicle. He refused medical attention.

About 3:45 p.m., a 25-year-old man was critically wounded in an Austin neighborhood drive-by shooting on the West Side. He was walking in the 1700 block of North Cicero when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, police said. The man was struck in the left eye and taken to Stroger Hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

A 25-year-old man was wounded in another drive-by shooting at 10:16 a.m. in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. He was shot at least once in the body when someone opened fire from a passing vehicle in the 700 block of North Lawndale, police said. The man was taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.

Earlier Tuesday morning, a 19-year-old man was seriously wounded in a separate East Garfield Park attack. He was standing outside about 8:25 a.m. near the corner in the 600 block of North Ridgeway when another male approached and fired shots, police said. The man was shot twice and taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.

Charges were pending against an officer with the Indian Head Park Police Department who was involved in a domestic-related shooting about 2:30 a.m. in the Clearing neighborhood on the Southwest Side, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. A 22-year-old man was shot in the right arm and thigh and taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center. The alleged shooter was taken into custody and charges were pending Tuesday afternoon.

The day’s first shooting happened about 2:05 a.m. in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side. A 27-year-old man was pulling his vehicle into a back yard lot in the 9100 block of South Harper when 18-year-old Brian Ford walked up and pointed a gun at him, police said. The 27-year-old concealed carry permit holder, who feared “he may become a victim of a battery,” pulled out his own weapon and shot Ford in the chest.

Ford was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. He has since been charged with a felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Ford, who lives in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, was scheduled for a Wednesday bond hearing.

On Monday, two men were killed and at least three other people were wounded in citywide shootings.