Police said the two shootings happened minutes apart early Sunday in separate parts of the city.
GARY, IN — A 10-year-old Chicago boy was killed and at least seven other people were injured early Sunday after two separate shootings in Gary, police said.
The boy was identified by the Lake County, Indiana, Coroner’s Office as Montana Weathers, of Chicago. Police said the shootings happened about 15 minutes apart in different parts of the city, sending victims to Methodist Northlake Hospital and leaving one man in critical condition. No arrests had been announced Sunday afternoon.
Gary police said officers first responded about 12:34 a.m. Sunday to reports of shots fired near 19th Avenue and Hanley Street. While officers were heading to the area, police said they learned that several victims had arrived at Methodist Northlake Hospital. Six people took themselves to the hospital after that shooting. Their conditions were not immediately released. Police did not say what led to the gunfire, whether the victims were targeted or whether any suspects had been identified in the first case.
Minutes later, about 12:49 a.m., officers were sent to the 200 block of Chase Street, about 4 miles from the first scene, for a report of a gunshot victim. Police said officers then learned that a 10-year-old boy and a 50-year-old man had also gone to Methodist Northlake Hospital after being shot. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital. The man was later transferred to another Chicago-area hospital, where police said he remained in critical condition.
Authorities described the shootings as separate incidents, but they did not immediately release information showing whether the cases were connected in any way. Police did not release the names or ages of the six people wounded near 19th Avenue and Hanley Street. They also did not release the name of the 50-year-old man wounded on Chase Street. Investigators had not publicly described a vehicle, weapon or suspect in either shooting by Sunday afternoon.
Fox 32 Chicago reported that Weathers was visiting family for the Fourth of July holiday. The killing came during a holiday weekend when police departments across the region often prepare for large gatherings, fireworks and late-night calls. Gary, a Lake County city in northwest Indiana near Chicago, has seen several recent cases involving children struck by gunfire, including a 2025 shooting in which a 10-year-old boy was wounded by a stray bullet during a shootout outside a home.
The Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force is involved in the investigation into the Chase Street shooting. Police asked people with information about the 19th Avenue and Hanley Street shooting to contact Detective Corporal Melendez at 219-881-1209. They asked people with information about the Chase Street shooting to contact Detective Salazar with the homicide task force at 219-755-3720. Police did not announce a scheduled briefing or say when more details would be released.
Both scenes remained under investigation Sunday as authorities worked to sort out the timeline, identify who fired the shots and determine why the violence began. The first shooting sent six people to the hospital. The second killed a child and critically injured an adult. Police said further information was not immediately available, leaving unanswered questions about the victims’ conditions, the number of shooters and whether any evidence had been recovered.
As of Sunday afternoon, investigators had reported one death, one critical injury and six additional injuries from the two Gary shootings. The next major update is expected to come from Gary police, the coroner’s office or the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force.
Author note: Last updated July 5, 2026.