Manhunt launched after 7 teenagers wounded in Chicago drive-by shooting

A manhunt has been launched after seven teenagers were wounded in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of Saturday morning, police in Chicago said.

“An unknown vehicle drove by, and began firing shots at the crowd striking several victims,” as officers were “trying to disperse a large gathering of people,” in the city’s southeastern 6th District, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement.

Three of the victims were 17-years-old, three of them 18 and one 19. All suffered injuries to their legs, two were struck in the arm, one in the back and one in the buttocks, the statement said, adding that they were taken to local hospitals.

All were listed as being in “fair condition” apart from one who was hit in the leg and the chest, whose condition was listed as “serious.”

“The vehicle immediately fled the scene,” the statement said. “No officers were injured.”

It added that no one was in custody and detectives were “investigating the circumstances involving the incident.”

In 2024, there were 2,758 shooting victims in Chicago, according to the city’s police department, a 4.1% decrease from the previous year.