Gang Crossfire Leaves 2 Young Brothers in Hospital
Gang crossfire leaves two young brothers in hospital
CHICAGO LAWN | Boys ages 5 and 8 shot in left legs while playing on porch
June 21, 2007
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN, NORMAN PARISH AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
When news spread Wednesday that two little brothers had been shot at 59th and Sawyer, the kids around Chicago Lawn knew what it was about.
"We heard there was going to be a fight between the Kings and the SDs,'' said Nancy, who is only 10 and stands just three feet tall.
The girl, wearing a T-shirt and jean skirt, used the nicknames for the Latin Kings and the Satan Disciples -- two gangs that several residents said fight in the area.
Chicago Lawn District Cmdr. Leo Schmitz said police believe a gang member fired shots toward another gang member down the block. Instead, the bullets struck Juan Escalera Jr. and Edgar Escalera, ages 5 and 8, who were playing on their front porch as their mother, Maria, looked on.
"She's very sad and she's just crying,'' said Juan Escalera, the boys' father, who was at Mount Sinai with his wife Wednesday afternoon.
Both boys were struck in their left legs, and were transferred to University of Chicago Hospitals. They were in fair condition Wednesday night, hospital spokesman John Easton said.
Toys were still on the brick stairs of the home hours after the shootings.
Schmitz said the shooter got out of a car at 60th Street and fired the shots northward. The car -- described as a red or burgundy early 1990s Oldsmobile with a vinyl roof and gold spoke wheels -- then fled east on 60th and north on Albany. He could not say which gangs were involved.
A handful of shell casings were still in front of a home near 60th late Wednesday afternoon.
Escalera, who does maintenance on machines at a restaurant, said when he and his wife bought their home four years ago shootings were rare. Now they are commonplace -- in the past couple of months he was forced to call police himself. Now he's planning to sell. Escalera felt pity for the shooters.
"I feel sorry for them,'' he said. "They probably don't have parents, and if they do, they are not involved in their lives much.''
Escalera said his boys are both smart and attend Tonti Elementary.
The shootings shocked longtime residents. Regina Knepel, who has lived on the block 40 years, said she heard 11 shots and ran to the Escaleras' porch.
"They're very nice little boys,'' she said. "They were scared more than anything. . . . They are just the best neighbors you'd want to have.''
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