2 dead, multiple people wounded in 3 shootings hours apart in Austin neighborhood

CHICAGO — Chicago police say a person of interest is in custody in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old male in the Austin neighborhood early Sunday morning.

The incident was one of three shootings within hours of each other in the West Side neighborhood over the weekend, including another in which a 22-year-old woman was killed. Police have not yet confirmed that any of the shootings were related or stemmed from a “teen takeover.”

However, the shootings occurred in the area of what was apparently a large gathering of young people overnight, stretching from about West Fulton Street on the north to West End Avenue on the south, and from about North Laporte Avenue on the west to Cicero Avenue on the east.

18-year-old male killed

The third of those shootings reported by police happened just after 4:30 a.m. Sunday in the 5000 block of West Maypole Avenue.

In that incident, police say, a verbal altercation between two 18-year-old males and two unknown offenders who approached them in a vehicle turned physical, then the two offenders in the vehicle produced their guns and shot at the 18-year-olds.

One of the 18-year-olds was shot twice in the back and taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He has since been identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Kaleb Williams.

His father told WGN-TV that Williams had been waiting for an Uber.

The other 18-year-old was shot in the arm and taken to an area hospital in good/stable condition, according to police.

22-year-old woman killed

About two hours before that, around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, police say officers found multiple people shot when they responded to a call of a large gathering in the 100 block of North Lacrosse Avenue.

Among those wounded was a 22-year-old woman, who police say was shot in the back. She was taken to an area hospital and subsequently pronounced dead.

Also in that incident, police say a 29-year-old man was shot in the right leg and taken to an area hospital in critical condition, an 18-year-old male was shot in the chest and left arm and taken to an area hospital in critical condition, and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the left thigh and taken to an area hospital in critical condition.

Also wounded, according to police, was a 29-year-old woman who was shot in the right elbow and taken to an area hospital in good condition, and an 18-year-old male who was grazed in the left hand and released after being treated at the scene.

Weekend of violence

The first of the three reported shootings in Austin early Sunday happened around 1:45 a.m. in the 200 block of North Lamon Avenue, where police say responding officers found a 20-year-old woman with multiple gunshot wounds to the arms.

She was taken to an area hospital in good condition, according to police.

WGN reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson, a resident of the Austin neighborhood, for comment on the shootings but has not yet heard back.

The shootings in Austin represented just some of the weekend violence in the city.

According to Chicago police, from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, 20 shooting incidents were reported in the city, with 32 people shot, including four fatally.