The four 16-year-olds were shot close to Benito Juarez High School, according to Chicago fire officials.
Authorities reported that two pupils were killed and two other teenagers were injured in a shooting on Friday near a high school on Chicago’s West Side.
The four 16-year-olds were shot close to Benito Juarez High School, according to Chicago fire officials. At a press conference, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown announced the deaths of two of the victims.
The four were shot outside the school, according to police spokesperson Tom Ahern. Just before 3 o’clock on Friday, police, and paramedics responded to the incident.
All four were transferred to the same hospital, according to a representative for the Chicago Fire Department. Ahern first reported that one youngster was pronounced dead at the scene, another boy was in critical condition, and two other teenagers, a boy, and a girl had non-life-threatening wounds.
At the news conference, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools Pedro Martinez also made an appearance and said, “We want to first make sure we have the victims in our prayers.”
In a statement, the school district, better known as CPS, stated that “the safety of our school community is our top priority.” In order to gather information about what occurred, it was also said that the system’s safety and security office was collaborating with school administrators and school leaders.
One of the two dead victims was 14 years old, while the other was 15 years old, according to a news statement from the police.
According to police, both of the injured individuals are doing well. One victim, a 15-year-old male, had his leg and shoulder shot, and the second victim, a 15-year-old girl, had her thigh grazed.
The father of a sophomore at the school, Nicasio Rogel, reported hearing what he initially mistook for firecrackers. Then, “two kids” with backpacks were visible on the ground.
He claimed to have heard between six and eight gunshots.
When the shooting happened, students were being sent out of the school in staggered groups, according to Brown.
According to Langford, the shootings took place on school property but outside the actual school. To Stroger Hospital they were brought.
JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, issued a statement on Twitter expressing his sympathy to the families of the victims.
Democratic candidate Pritzker tweeted, “Schools are the backbone of neighborhoods and students deserve to feel safe.” “We must put an end to these unfathomable tragedies and eradicate gun violence from our communities.”
Sen. Dick Durbin echoed them and urged Congress to take additional action.
In 2020, motor vehicle crashes no longer accounted for the majority of deaths among children and adolescents aged 1 to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
