A brutal shooting claimed the lives of a 14-year-old boy and a 65-year-old man Tuesday afternoon in Chicago's Southwest Side. The Chicago Police Department reported the victims were standing outside their home in the 3500 block of West 61st Place when assailants in a gray vehicle shot them just after 4:20 p.m. According to the WLS, the older victim, later identified as Mario Medina, was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries. His teenage relative, Juan A. Medina Jr., died at the scene.
While adorned with festive decorations, the Medinas' block was turned into a crime scene, with nearly 20 bullet casings marking the violence wrought upon it. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that both victims resided at the same address where the shooting took place. The suspected gunmen fled west on 61st Place, and as of Tuesday night, they remain at large, with no one in custody and Area One detectives deep into the investigation, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Crisis responder and victim advocate Andrew Holmes revealed that the victims were related. "We have lost two family members here on this block," Holmes told WLS. He further mentioned that detectives are canvassing the area for surveillance footage or a license plate that may lead to the shooters.
Details surrounding the motive for the shooting remain murky. As Andrew Holmes said to WLS, "There was some type of altercation here. Some individual came to visit another individual; a gray car pulled up; they discharged that weapon, striking the 14-year-old." Holmes also stressed the uncertainty surrounding the connection between the visitors and the victims. Amidst this uncertainty, the investigation continues as a community reckons with a violent incident ripping through the fabric of their holiday season.
