A 14-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting on Friday afternoon in the West Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago.
Police said, shortly after 3 p.m., the boy was on the sidewalk in the 6300 block of North Rockwell Street, when someone shot him in the neck.
The victim was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital in critical condition.
The shooting happened as students were heading home from nearby schools. Neighbors said they heard up to six shots.
"Unfortunately, I know what gunshots sound like, and it was just six, one after another really fast," Liz Zalewski said. "They're getting younger and younger, both the suspects and the victims. It's awful. Where are they getting the guns? How is this happening? Why is it happening?"
Neighbors who heard the gunfire stepped outside to find the 14-year-old boy on the sidewalk. Witnesses said a friend was screaming for help.
"Two kids. One is on the phone. He's yelling like he's getting help, and another kid is laying down on floor face down," Mohammed Yasin said.
Police haven't said if the teen was targeted, but witnesses said the boy was riding an electric scooter at the time of the shooting.
After the shooting, police were spotted focusing their attention around a blue vehicle, but it was not clear how the car was connected to the crime.
Area 3 detectives were investigating.
