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Wicker Park Shooting Injures Two; Police Kill, Wound Men; Six Others Shot

By  Alisa Hauser and Josh McGhee | September 7, 2013 8:49am | Updated on September 7, 2013 12:58pm

 Two men were shot in Wicker Park at 11:34 p.m. Friday. Both are in stable condition, according to police.
Wicker Park Shooting Sept. 6
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WICKER PARK —  Two men shot in Wicker Park late Friday were among eight wounded and two killed by gunfire across the city, including two police-involved incidents.

The Wicker Park shootings occurred around 11:34 p.m. at 1500 N. Damen Ave. inside of the park for which the neighborhood is named, near the softball diamond and near the historic fountain, according to sources.

A 35-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital in stable condition while a 25-year-old man was shot in the body and taken to Masonic Hospital and is in stable condition, police said.

Police sources on the scene said that shooting was gang related.

Brian Mack, 35, a resident of the West Side, said he was walking with friends near Pierce and Damen avenues near the park when he heard the shots.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it were gangs," Mack said of the shooting.

Marcus Faletti, 54, said he was sitting on the bench in the park and watched the shootings.

"It was gangbangers banging themselves up," Faletti said Saturday morning.

In 10 years of hanging out in the park, Faletti, who is homeless, said he has never seen gang members shoot at each other in the park.

Mike Payette, a witness, told Our Urban Times that he saw two groups of men chasing each other before six to eight shots rang out.

The police are investigating the shooting.

Across the city, six other people were wounded by gunfire, including one shot by a police officer. Two people were killed, including a man shot by an off-duty police officer at a public-housing complex.

• A man was killed in Washington Park at 7 a.m.

• An off-duty police officer shot and killed a combative man near a public-housing complex near United Center.

• At about 4:20 Saturday morning, a man was shot in the mouth in the 5500 block of South Western Avenue in Gage Park. He was taken in serious condition to Mt. Sinai Hospital, said Officer Ron Gaines, a police spokesman.

• At 3:27 a.m., an 18-year-old male was shot in his back near the 2600 block of South Ridgeway Avene in South Lawndale. The man was taken in critical condition to Mt. Sinai, said Gaines.

•Around 2:20 a.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the 7800 block of South Shore in South Shore. The victim was shot in the chest and buttocks by a gunman who wasn't allowed to enter a party, said Officer Michael Sullivan, a police spokesman. The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, Sullivan said.

• Around 2:09 a.m., a police-involved shooting occurred in the 6300 block of South King Drive in Woodlawn. A man who was running from police was wounded in the leg after he turned toward cops holding a gun, a police statement said. A man is in custody and a weapon was recovered at the scene, said Gaines.

• Around 1:50 Saturday morning, a man was shot in the 2100 block of West Van Buren Avenue. The man was grazed in his face and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. The man's age was not available, said Sullivan.

• At about 11:45 p.m. Friday, a woman was shot in the 3000 block of South Tripp Avenue in Little Village. The 18-year-old woman was shot in the right arm and took herself to Loretto Hospital, police said. She was in stable condition, said Sullivan.