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CHICAGO (WLS) — A teen was shot and critically injured Sunday at a park on the city’s Far North Side, police said.
Witnesses told ABC7 a children’s soccer game was taking place at the time of the shooting.
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Police originally reported the shooting as a potential armed robbery, but ABC7 spoke to a mother and other witnesses on scene who said the teen was shot over a dispute during a soccer match among kids.
The shooting happened around 5:15 p.m. in the 2100 block of West Granville Avenue, Chicago police said.
The victim, a 17-year-old boy, was approached by an armed male offender on an electric scooter who demanded his property, police initially reported. After taking items, the suspect shot at teen in the upper body and left forearm, CPD said.
The boy was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.
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Families living in West Ridge were shocked to see what unfolded there A mother was with her kids at a park on West Granville Avenue when suddenly she heard gunshots fired in the same spot her 9-year-old boy was playing soccer.
She did not want to be identified as she explained the terrifying scene she witnessed.
“We heard a big bang, almost like a firework boom, and the kids came running off the park, and my youngest one said, ‘Someone’s been shot. Someone’s been shot, mom,'” she said.
That is crazy, and to have access to a loaded firearm… or even the emotional mindset to go from playing to firearm, it just shows you where our youth is headed.
The mother said the alleged shooter is a young teenager who got upset about the soccer match and grabbed a gun from his bag to shot the 17-year-old boy.
The suspect ran away before police arrived, while the teenager was found on the ground and was immediately rushed to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition.
“He grabbed the gun from a fanny pack and just shot him and the guy who got shot was like, ‘Please don’t shoot me,’ and he shot him,” the witness said.
The mother said her kids are okay, but says it’s certainly traumatizing for them to witness something like this at a place they visit often.
“My kids come to this park all the time… this is a charter school, so it’s like the neighborhood park,” she said.
People living in the neighborhood said it’s a diverse area with many young kids, and they can’t fathom the fact that a young teen wanted to settle a dispute by pulling out a gun.
“That is crazy, and to have access to a loaded firearm to have access to a firearm at all or even the emotional mindset to go from playing to firearm, it just shows you where our youth is headed,” a resident said. “It shows you where the mindset of the youth is at.”
No arrests have been made as Chicago police continue to investigate.
No further information was available.
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