According to police reports, father Ken Wise, and his son, Aston Wise, were in a parked car when someone approached the vehicle and began shooting into it at approximately 8:30 p.m Friday. The father was in the driver's seat, and the son was on the passenger side.
Despite being severely wounded, the 42-year-old father is said to have tried to drive for help. He made it about 15 blocks before finally losing control of the vehicle. He struck several parked cars and ultimately crashed into the Wee Care Nursery School, striking a gas line and a water pipe.
"It's just heart-breaking to hear about the child. He was a normal little child," said neighbor M.C. Henry.
"Aston was totally innocent. This was just the wrong place at the wrong time," Aston's step uncle Dorence Robinson said.
"Silence is unacceptable. Iit could be your son or daughter, mother or father who could be killed. It's simple as that," Mayor Daley said Saturday.
The crash prompted a hazmat response from the fire department. No one was in the building at the time of the accident.
Police had not determined a motive in the shooting Saturday evening, but police Supt. Jody Weis said there have been recent gang conflicts in the area and that Aston's half-brother was a documented gang member. That is an assertion the family denies.