3 Shot In Dolton, Including 12-Year-Old Boy Riding His Bike
DOLTON, Ill. (STMW) -- A gunman opened fire Monday morning in south suburban Dolton, wounding three people, including a 12-year-old boy visiting the neighborhood for a Memorial Day celebration with his family.
Family identified the 12-year-old as DaJun Edwards. A 21-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy also were wounded. All three were taken to Franciscan St. Margaret Health hospital in Hammond, Ind., and are expected to survive, police said.
Carolyn Scott, DaJun's grandmother, said the boy panicked and asked her to "help me, please help me," after he realized he'd been shot while riding his bike near the corner of 143rd and Avalon.
"It was like, fear in his eyes," Scott said.
She said her family gathered Monday for a Memorial Day cookout, and several small children were outside at the time of the shooting. Hours later, the family was still gathered there despite the shooting, though Scott said DaJun's mother was with the boy in the hospital.
Community activist Andrew Holmes pointed to droplets of blood on the sidewalk nearby, and a bullet hole in a garage that he said was a result of the shooting.
"Before dark, I'm just going to pack me and my family up and go inside," Scott said.
Police said a passenger in a gold Chrysler 300 exchanged words with a male bicyclist shortly before 11 a.m. The bicyclist eventually rode away and the driver of the Chrysler drove off.
But a short time later, police said the Chrysler traveled northbound on Woodlawn at 143rd, and a passenger fired a handgun, hitting the three victims. Police said they're still trying to figure out who was targeted, but they've been told that none of the people shot were involved.
DaJun Edwards was shot from nearly a block away and wounded in the right arm, police said. The 21-year-old man was shot in the right hand and right thigh, and the 17-year-old was shot in the right thigh. Police said the bullet traveled up to his left lower abdomen.
Dolton police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call (708) 201-3200.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
