2 killed, 19 wounded in shootings since Friday evening

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Two people were killed and 19 others wounded in citywide shootings over the weekend.

Four people were wounded Friday evening after 5 p.m., a man was killed and five others wounded on Saturday, and 11 people were shot — one of them fatally — on Sunday. No one was reported shot on Monday.

A 22-year-old man was shot dead late Saturday in the West Town neighborhood, according to police.

Officers responded about 11:40 p.m. Saturday to the 1300 block of West Huron Street and found Quantis Smith on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his chest, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died.

A black SUV was seen traveling east from the scene, police said. No one was in custody.

“It saddens me that they took my son from me,” Smith’s mother wrote on his Facebook page early Sunday. “I want all y’all to be okay. I’m okay. Love you all.”

After the shooting, officers marked seven shell casings on the ground.

About 4:30 a.m. Sunday, a man was fatally shot in front of his wife as they arrived home in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Abel Cruz, 39, was driving with his wife when he noticed a red truck following him to their destination in the 5200 block of South Artesian Avenue, police and the medical examiner’s office said.

When they arrived, a male in the truck flashed a gang sign and Cruz did likewise, authorities said. The male in the truck then fired shots and struck Cruz in the back of his head, killing him at the scene. His wife was uninjured.

In nonfatal shootings, a man suffered gunshot wounds to his face and chest Friday evening near a bus stop in the South Shore neighborhood.

At 11:34 p.m., officers arrived at a bus stop in the 3000 block of East 79th Street and saw the 36-year-old who was shot in the face once and in the chest five times, according to police.

He told officers he was shot inside an apartment and managed to escape on foot, police said. He was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition.

In the weekend’s first shooting, three men were wounded Friday night by gunfire that left over 70 bullet casings strewn across the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side.

The men were sitting in two separate vehicles about 9:22 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Ohio Street when a vehicle approached and at least one person inside fired shots, police said.

In the first vehicle, an 18-year-old was shot in his buttocks and thigh, and another 18-year-old was shot in his thigh, police said. They were taken to Norwegian Hospital in good condition.

A 22-year-old in another vehicle was struck in his wrist and was in good condition at the same hospital, police said. Shortly after the shooting, officers placed evidence markers next to at least 70 bullet casings at the scene.

Detectives were investigating the shootings, and no one was in custody early Saturday.

Last weekend, 20 people were shot — three fatally.