Children, 8 and 9, wounded in separate Gary shootings

GARY, Ind. (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Two children were wounded in separate shootings Monday night in northwest Indiana.

About 9:30 p.m., a 9-year-old boy was inside a home in the 4300 block of West 19th Avenue in Gary when someone fired into the residence, striking the boy in the chest, according to Gary police.

About four hours earlier, an 8-year-old girl was sitting at the dinner table in the 2100 block of Chase Street at 5:15 p.m. when someone shot at the house, striking her in the left side of the abdomen, police said.

Both children were initially taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary, and both were later transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said. They are listed in critical but “stable” condition.

“I was saddened to hear about these senseless shootings in our community, that have wounded and affected the lives of innocent children and their families,” Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said. “I will visit the children and families at the hospital today. I am praying for a healthy recovery.”

Anyone with information should call Gary police at (866) 274-6347. Callers may remains anonymous.