8-year-old girl among 6 killed in weekend shootings in Chicago

Police investigate after a Little Village shooting Saturday.  | Clare Spaulding/Sun-Times

An 8-year-old girl was among six people killed in weekend gun violence in Chicago. At least 16 other people were wounded.

The shootings were concentrated on the South and West sides, with the 7th District in Englewood logging the most victims: four.

Four other police districts saw three shooting victims each: The 3rd District, in South Shore; 5th District, in Pullman; 6th District, in Auburn Gresham; 9th District, in Brighton Park; and the 10th District, in Lawndale.

• The youngest victim in weekend violence was 8-year-old Melissa Ortega, who was walking with her mother on 26th Street near Pulaski Road when a gunman stepped from an alley and opened fire at a rival gang member around 2:45 p.m. Saturday, according to a police report. The girl was struck twice in the head and she was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. The intended target was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Melissa Ortega, 8, was killed when she was struck by a stray bullet Saturday in Little Village.

• Two men were killed Sunday morning in South Shore. Police responded to a call of a shooting in the 1800 block of East 71st Street about 3:45 a.m. and found a person on the ground and a man, 41, in his car, police said. The person on the ground was shot in the back, and the man in the car was shot in the thigh, police said. Both were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. The man in the car was identified as Shannon Lofton.
• A man was fatally shot Friday night in Gresham on the South Side. Ohleyer Jones, 19, was standing outside in the 9000 block of South Normal Avenue about 9 p.m. when he was shot in the legs and upper body, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and was pronounced dead.
• A man was killed early Saturday while driving in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side. The man, 33, was in the 4200 block of South Archer Avenue about 5:15 a.m. when an SUV pulled alongside and someone inside opened fire, striking him in the head, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
• A man was shot and stabbed to death Sunday afternoon in Gresham on the South Side. The man, 69, was found unresponsive inside a home about 4:50 p.m. in the 8100 block of South Paulina Street, police said. He suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach and several stab wounds on the body, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name hasn’t been released.

Nonfatal attacks

• A 17-year-old boy was shot Saturday morning inside a West Englewood gas station on the South Side. The shooting occurred around 1 a.m. in the 2000 block of West Marquette Road, police said. He was taken in good condition to the University of Chicago with a gunshot wounds to his leg and buttocks.
• Two men, 22 and 40, were seriously wounded just after midnight Sunday in the 10400 block of South Corliss Avenue, police said. The younger man was shot in the neck, and the older man in the neck and mouth, police said. Both transported to Roseland Community Hospital in serious condition.
• A man was shot inside an Englewood home Saturday evening on the South Side. The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said. The man, 45, was taken in good condition to Saint Bernard Hospital, police said.

At least 10 others were wounded in the city from 5 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

The previous weekend, five people were killed and 33 others were wounded from Friday evening through early Tuesday in Chicago.