Chicago police said the 24-year-old woman was in the backyard of a home in the 2400-block of West Eastwood shortly before 2:40 p.m. when she was shot in the chest.
She was taken to Swedish Hospital in critical condition.
The shooting happened in back of a home just a block from the Western Brown Line CTA stop, just off the alley that runs along the L tracks. A Hyundai sedan parked behind the home is riddled with bulletholes, with about a dozen in the windshield alone. By all indications, that's only a fraction of the shots fired.
It was not immediately clear if the woman was in the car when she was shot.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified said the shooting left the neighborhood shaken.
"It's scary. Scary. My neighbor thought it was fire crackers. I thought it was a motorcycle. So it's really kind of dangerous out here," they said.
Another neighbor, who also asked to remain anonymous, said there was a man with a long gun exchanging gunfire with two other men in the alley. Police have not yet released any details of the circumstances of the shooting.
At least one weapon was recovered, and police radio exchanges indicated some of the people involved also discarded their clothing.
Multiple neighbors said there have been problems at the residence in the past. The building is split into three units. Neighbors said there have been parties, people drinking and doing drugs outside, and vehicles coming and going.
Still a mid-afternoon shooting was very surprising, they said.
No one is currently in custody and police have not released a description of the suspect.
Area Three detectives are investigating.