CPS Safe Passage worker shot near Ellington Elementary in Austin

CHICAGO (SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE) - A Chicago Public Schools Safe Passage worker was seriously wounded in a shooting Thursday morning in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

The 29-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the back about 8:20 a.m. in the 5600 block of West Corocoran, according to Chicago police. He was taken in serious condition to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Police said at least one suspect drove away in a Nissan Altima with dark windows.

CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the man was a Safe Passage worker. The shooting happened a few blocks away from Edward K. Ellington Elementary School, 243 N. Parkside Ave.

A police source said the Safe Passage worker did not appear to be the intended target of the shooting.

“We are devastated by this senseless act that harmed a member of our CPS family, but we are grateful that the injuries were non-life threatening,” CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson said in a statement.

“We are thankful that no students were in the area when this occurred, and we are sending a crisis team to support the school community,” Jackson added.

Further details were not immediately available as Area North detectives investigated.