Two girls were shot Tuesday evening near a park in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood
Police said the girls were walking in the 1300 block of West 117th Street, near Cooper Park, at about 7:45 p.m. when someone from inside a passing car began shooting randomly.
One of the girls, aged 12, was shot twice in the stomach and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, said Officer Daryl Beaty. At last check she was in critical condition.
Beaty said another girl, aged 13, was shot once in the leg. She was taken in stable condition to Roseland Community Hospital for treatment and later released.
Members of the community said the pair was with a third girl, but her location was unknown and there were conflicting reports as to whether she was injured.
The city's largest community center, the Kroc Center, is nearby. At least one of the girls ran to the center to get help.
"The shooting happened away from here, maybe three or four blocks away, and I don't know, I guess it was just some fire. Kids started running. I think a young lady got hit and she ran all the way until she found a safe haven. That's what we have here at the Salvation Army. That's why we're here. She ran inside from here and we called paramedics. Everybody took care of her," said the Salvation Army's Sudie Davis.
The center has been open just about three weeks and was intended to be a positive place for the community.
The Salvation Army's Darlene Harvey said the center has had more than 1,000 visitors each day -- swimming, playing and recreating -- at the facility since it opened.
Representatives from the anti-gang group Ceasefire descended on the neighborhood to provide assistance. Ceasefire's partnership with the Chicago Police Department officially begins Friday.
