Gunfire exchange outside of North Lawndale library leaves 3-year-old wounded
Chicago police responded to reports of gunshots that occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. outside the Douglass branch of the Chicago Public Library located at 3353 W. 13th St. in North Lawndale.
According to a police spokesperson at the scene, two armed subjects moving eastbound encountered another individual and exchanged gunfire near the library. Stray bullets struck a 3-year-old in the arm who was sitting inside a nearby parked car.
“Two subjects armed with handguns came around the corner, going eastbound, and saw another subject on the street and exchanged gunfire. These two subjects shot at the individual subsequently firing into the vehicle with a 3-year-old and his uncle,” said the police spokesperson.
The 3-year-old was rushed to nearby John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital in serious but stable condition.
The police spokesperson said the shooters were able to escape on foot, but they plan to look at security camera footage captured by the library and use K-9 units to locate the two subjects.
North Lawndale resident Kamerai Mobily said she heard several gunshots when exiting a CTA bus traveling southbound on Homan Ave. and took cover at a nearby Taco Bell located less than two blocks away from the library. She said she just dropped her son off at school.
“I heard shots, a lot of them, they were like 40 of them,” said Mobliy. “I think they shot a red car cause windows were shot out.”