Girl, 11, seriously wounded in Chicago shooting from car

CHICAGO (AP) - An 11-year-old girl was shot and seriously wounded in Chicago near the end of a weekend that saw at least 60 people wounded in shootings across the city, police said.

The girl was shot in the back Sunday night when witnesses said they saw someone open fire from a red vehicle in the West Pullman neighborhood on the city's South Side, police said. She was hospitalized in serious condition.

Ashley Santiago said she was enjoying the night breeze in front of her home when she heard the gunshots that wounded the girl.

'œWe can't really let our kids come out and come play because stuff like this is happening,'ť she told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The girl was among at least 60 people shot, six of them fatally, between 3 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing data compiled from police information.

Those shooting victims included eight people who were standing on a street corner when they were wounded early Sunday as occupants of a passing vehicle opened fire.

Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters Monday that homicides are up 5% this year compared with this time last year and shootings are up 17%. But he insisted that violent crime is 'œtrending in a downward direction'ť in 'œfits and starts.'ť

Chicago saw a drop in homicides in May compared with the same month last year and it ended with fewer killings than any Memorial Day weekend in a decade.