Police said the victims’ SUV crashed into a parked vehicle after the shooting.
CHICAGO, IL — A 26-year-old woman was killed and two teenagers were seriously wounded Tuesday afternoon when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on an SUV in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Chicago police said.
The shooting drew a large police response to the 1700 block of West 50th Street and left neighbors describing a burst of gunfire in daylight. Police said the woman, an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were inside a Honda SUV when the attackers pulled alongside and fired. Area One detectives are investigating, and police had not announced any arrests.
The attack happened about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday near West 50th Street and South Wood Street, after the SUV had been moving westbound on 50th Street, police said. The two people on the motorcycle pulled up next to the vehicle, and both produced guns and fired into it, according to police accounts. The SUV, marked by bullet holes, struck a parked vehicle before stopping. A neighbor who saw part of the aftermath said one of the wounded teens shouted for help. “Call the cops! Call the cops!” the witness said, describing the moments after the shots ended.
The woman was shot in the back and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Her name had not been released by authorities in the early reports. The 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm and leg and was taken to the same hospital in critical condition. The 18-year-old man was shot in the hip and was listed in serious condition. Police have not said whether the three victims were related. They also had not released a motive, a detailed description of the shooters or the motorcycle, or information on where the attackers went after the shooting.
Residents near the scene described a fast and frightening attack on a residential stretch of Back of the Yards, a South Side neighborhood west of the Dan Ryan Expressway and south of the former Union Stock Yards area. Surveillance video from a nearby home captured more than 10 gunshots, according to local reports. One witness said two of the victims ran from the SUV after it stopped, with one limping before dropping a phone that appeared to have been hit by gunfire. Another person heard one of the wounded victims cry out that his sister had been shot.
Police said the case remained under investigation by Area One detectives, the unit that handles violent crimes in that part of the city. No charges had been filed as of the latest police update. Investigators were expected to review surveillance video, look for shell casings and speak with witnesses who were near West 50th Street when the motorcycle approached the SUV. The Cook County medical examiner’s office typically confirms the identity of fatal shooting victims after family notification, but authorities had not released the woman’s name in the first public accounts.
The shooting happened in the afternoon, when people were still moving through the neighborhood and vehicles were parked along the street. A woman who heard the gunfire said in Spanish that she was afraid to come out of her home after the attack. Another neighbor said gunfire had become a repeated fear in the area. “We’re getting tired of all this, because all these gunshots is all you hear all the time,” the witness said. Police remained at the scene afterward as investigators blocked off part of the street and examined the damaged SUV and nearby parked vehicle.
As of Friday, police had reported no arrests in the shooting. The next public milestone is expected to be an update from Chicago police or the Cook County medical examiner’s office on the woman’s identity, the teens’ conditions or possible suspects.
Author note: Last updated May 8, 2026.