7 wounded in Back of the Yards shooting

A shooting late Friday in Back of the Yards during a Fourth of July celebration left seven people in serious or critical condition.

A group of people was gathered outside just after 11 p.m. in the 4800 block of South Justine Street when two gunmen walked up to them and opened fire, Chicago police said.

Two women, ages 21 and 27, suffered gunshot wounds to the leg and were taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. Two other women, both 25, were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. One of them was listed in serious condition, the other in critical condition.

A man, 21, was shot in the quad and foot and was listed in serious condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. Two other men, 29 and 42, suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and leg and were listed in serious and critical condition at University of Chicago Medical Center, respectively, police said.

Yolanda Androzzo, executive director of the antiviolence group One Aim Illinois, said the incident was "yet another mass shooting in our city. No neighborhood or community is immune, and we are all grieving together."

“We’re praying for the families and communities trying to make sense of this violence, and we are holding space for the survivors whose lives will never be the same," Androzzo said in a statement. "No one should have to live with this level of trauma."

Teny Gross, the founder of the Institute for Nonviolence in Back of the Yards, said the gathering was a July Fourth celebration.

“There were many, many gatherings and someone decided to go and hurt people, and it's outrageous," Gross said. “They decided to do that when you have a crowd, and then when you have a crowd, the chance of hitting a lot of people increases exponentially."

Gross said his team of outreach workers arrived at the scene of the shooting shortly after the incident. They also visited the hospitals where the victims were taken to support their families.

Gross said his team is worried about the possibility of retaliation in response to the shooting and is trying to prevent it.

“We always work on calming and supporting people, as well as finding out if this is something that can lead to more violence. ... We've been working on that since last night and today, and will continue to work on it.”

Area 1 detectives are investigating. Chicago police said there were no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.