After a chase that lasted less than two miles, a gunman in a ski mask walked up to a car and opened fire in the South Loop Wednesday night, seriously wounding a 6-month-old baby and a 13-year-old girl and also hitting two adults, according to Chicago police.
Another child in the car, a 15-year-old girl, escaped unharmed.
Police said there was “some type of interaction” between the car and the gunman’s blue van or SUV that led to the chase and the shooting around 9:10 p.m. near Cermak Road and State Street.
“We do not believe this was a random act,” said Chicago police Deputy Chief Kevin Ryan.
The van or SUV sped away, possibly south on State, police said. No one was in custody Thursday morning. Ryan said the area is “heavily covered” by surveillance video and detectives were reviewing footage.
The 6-month-old boy was shot twice in the abdomen and was listed in critical but stable condition at Lurie Children’s Hospital, just north of the Loop, police said. The 13-year-old girl was taken there too with a wound to the shoulder. She was also critical but stable.
A 37-year-old woman was hit in the knee and stabilized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A 27-year-old man was grazed in the arm and refused treatment on scene.
Police said the man may have been the target and did not cooperate with police.
At least five evidence markers were placed near shell casings strewn across Cermak, near the McCormick Green Line stop. Officers examined the victims’ car.
Nearby, detectives spoke with patrons at Reggies Chicago, a bar and music club about a half block from the shooting.
An employee of the bar said he heard six to eight shots, and then heard a woman screaming as officers swarmed on scene.
Mark Cassidy, a banjo player for the band HillBenders, said he was about to go on stage when he heard several pops. Moments later, he heard sirens and saw police cars converging on the scene.
Inside the bar, most patrons seemed unfazed, he said.
“It’s terrifying,” Cassidy said, standing outside and lighting a cigarette.
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(The Tribune’s Kasondra Van Treeck contributed.)
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