Boy With Shotgun Wounds 2 Police Say Motive For North Side Parking Lot Shooting Unknown

A 16-year-old boy fired a sawed-off shotgun into a car parked at a North Side shopping center early Saturday, wounding two passengers and himself.

Witnesses told police that one of the boy’s companions goaded him into pulling the trigger, yelling “Shoot someone!”

A 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man sitting in the car were hurt.

The girl was hit by nine pellets from the single blast, six of them striking her in the face. One of her eyes was severely damaged, police said.

She was in satisfactory condition at Holy Family Hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Her companion received numerous cuts from flying glass. He was treated and released from Holy Family.

Another occupant of the car was not hurt.

The suspect suffered injuries to his right hand when the gun recoiled.

He was treated for his injuries at Sacred Heart Medical Center after he and two companions were arrested.

The incident took place about 1:30 a.m. outside the Taco Bell restaurant at the Northpointe Shopping Center, a popular hangout for teenagers.

Nearly 20 people were milling around or sitting in their cars when the boy and his two friends arrived, police reported.

The shooter pulled out the gun and waved it around before pointing it at the car and firing, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman.

Police don’t know what prompted him to take a gun to the area. A girl who witnessed the shooting told them the boy had been threatening her and a friend for several days.

“The motives aren’t at all clear,” said Cottam, adding that police don’t know if the boy has any ties to area gangs.

The business manager at the 24-hour restaurant said she was surprised at the violence.

“We were just as shocked as you were,” Taco Bell’s Jennifer Jay said. “We have no idea what went on.” The shooter apparently was well known to those in the crowd.

At least six people told police who he was, and he and his two companions were arrested at an apartment in the 6100 block of North Mayfair about an hour after the incident.

He was booked into jail on suspicion of first degree assault with a firearm.

One of his companions, a 15-year-old boy, was booked into the juvenile detention center on suspicion of first degree assault with a firearm and possession of a controlled substance. Police found a white substance thought to be cocaine in his possession.

The boy’s other companion, 20-year-old Sylvester Davis Jr., of 3931 E. Montgomery, was booked into jail on suspicion of first degree assault as well.

, DataTimes