Chicago basketball star Dwyane Wade’s cousin was shot dead while she was pushing her baby in a stroller Friday afternoon near an elementary school in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, according to police and a family spokesman.

Nykea Aldridge, 32, and a man were walking in the 6300 block of South Calumet Avenue about 3:30 p.m. when two men approached and someone began firing at the man, authorities and the family spokesman said.

Aldridge was hit in the head and the arm and taken to Stroger Hospital, where she died, police said. The baby was not hurt, and a relative came to the scene and took the child, police said.

Advertisement

Aldridge had gone to register her children at Dulles School of Excellence when the shooting happened, said the Rev. Edward Jones Sr., a spokesman for the family. The school is next to the Parkway Gardens apartment complex where Aldridge had lived for about four months, Jones said.

Aldridge is the daughter of Wade’s mother’s sister, the pastor said. He said Aldridge had four children, the youngest just a couple of weeks old.

“[She was a] Christian woman, a loving mother and somebody who aspired to make a life for herself and her family,” Jones said.

Wade issued a statement on Twitter late Friday. “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough,” the post read.

Outside the emergency room at Stroger Hospital on Friday afternoon, family members stood in a circle and held hands as they prayed for Aldridge. Afterward, some wiped their eyes. Among those at the hospital was Dwyane Wade’s mother, Jolinda Wade.

“Even though this tragedy has hit our family, we will continue our focus to come against the violence in the city of Chicago,” Jones said. “We will continue to pray, and we ask for prayers as we pray for everyone who has to go through this type of violence.”

More: Trump: Slaying of Bulls star’s cousin a reason blacks will vote for him

Advertisement*

Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief James Jones said in a news conference Friday that Aldridge was “an innocent party to this senseless shooting.” Police are interviewing “a number of subjects” in connection with the killing, he said.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump commented on Aldridge’s death Saturday morning, tweeting that the killing was an example of “Just what I have been saying” about the failure of municipalities, governed primarily by Democrats, to curtail violent crime in black communities.

Wade no stranger to Chicago’s violence

It’s not the first time a relative of Wade, who signed with the Bulls as a free agent in the offseason, has been shot.

In late March 2012, Wade’s nephew Darin Johnson was shot twice in the leg when two gunmen opened fire in a South Side convenience store. One man was killed and five, including Johnson, were injured.

A few days later, Wade, then playing with the Miami Heat, took to the court with a special message written on his shoe: “Praying for Darin.”

Wade established the Dwyane Wade’s World Foundation, which backs community-based organizations that help children in at-risk situations. It has worked with the Rev. Michael Pfleger in fighting violence in the Gresham neighborhood.

At his Bulls introductory news conference late last month, Wade was asked if he would play a role in supporting anti-violence initiatives, with Chicago suffering through an especially deadly year.

“There’s always great strength in numbers. We’ll sit down and talk about what’s the next step, what’s the best step and how that looks here in Chicago,” Wade said. “I haven’t been here as a player since high school, so I don’t know the lay of the land.”

“What my family and I have always done, we’ve just tried to give back,” he said. “I live by the code: To whom much is given, much is required. I’ve been given a lot. It’s required for me to do something to help the next generation.” When his nephew was shot in 2012, Wade voiced frustration about violence.

“A lot of work that I do in the community in Chicago is about [gun violence], and to have a family member, my nephew, be involved in it, it’s sad,” Wade said in a statement. “It hurts your heart to think about not only your family but other families going through it. I’m just glad that he’s fine and hopefully he recovers. … You never expect to get a call like that.”

Johnson is the son of one of Wade’s sisters. He lives in the south suburbs but was visiting his father in the Gresham neighborhood.

More: 92 deaths, 2,623 bullets: Tracking every Chicago police shooting over 6 years

Many more shot, killed

Three other people were killed and at least 18 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday afternoon, police said.

At 3:35 a.m. Saturday, a man was killed and another was wounded in West Pullman. They were driving in an alley in the 500 block of West 127th Street when a blue truck pulled up and someone inside, a male with dreadlocks, fired shots into the vehicle.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and went to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition. He later was pronounced dead.

A 24-year-old was shot in the leg. He went to the same hospital and his condition was stabilized.

About 6:15 p.m. Friday, a 55-year-old man was fatally wounded in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. That shooting happened in the 900 block of West Wilson Avenue. The man was shot in the upper right arm and was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Tannehill said.

Moments earlier, at 6:12 p.m., 35-year-old Ramon M. Tolbert was killed in the Galewood neighborhood, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was standing outside in the 1600 block of North Meade Avenue when someone exited a nearby vehicle and fired shots, hitting him in the head and chest.

Tolbert, of the 200 block of North Kildare Avenue, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead less than an hour later.

About 3:10 a.m. Saturday, three people were shot in South Austin. Two 22-year-old men and a 15-year-old boy were in a car eating in the 5400 block of West Ferdinand Street when someone fired shots into the vehicle. One 22-year-old man was shot in the left foot, the other was shot in both feet, and the boy was grazed in his left arm and shot in his right arm. All three went to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

At 2:20 a.m., a 22-year-old man was shot during an attempted robbery near Navy Pier downtown. He was in the 600 block of East Illinois Street when someone approached him, pulled out a gun and announced a robbery. When the man didn’t comply, the would-be robber shot him in the leg and fled. The man went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and his condition was stabilized.

Just after 1:55 a.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the arm and leg in Englewood. He was shot in the 6900 block of South Halsted Street and went to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment. He was listed in serious condition.

About 1:20 a.m., two men were shot in the Marquette Park neighborhood. They were standing on a porch in the 6300 block of South Rockwell Street when people began firing shots at them. One of the men, 25, is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, and he returned fire. He was shot in the back and went to Stroger Hospital in serious condition. In addition, a 31-year-old man was shot in the leg. He went to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition.

At 12:34 a.m., a 44-year-old man was shot in the arm in the 6400 block of South Carpenter Street. He went to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center in good condition.

About 11:25 p.m. Friday, a 22-year-old man was shot six times during an attack in Lawndale. He was in the 1200 block of South Lawndale Avenue when he was shot four times in the chest and twice in the back. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition. About 11:15 p.m., two 24-year-old men were shot in Gresham.

They were in the 900 block of West 77th Street sitting in a car when someone came up on foot and fired shots toward them. One was shot in the chest and arm and the other was shot in the abdomen. They went to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

Just after 10 p.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in the chest in the Brighton Park neighborhood. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital after being shot in the 3800 block of South Kedzie Avenue. No information was available about the circumstances of the shooting, but his condition was stabilized.

At 10 p.m., a 32-year-old woman was accidentally shot in West Rogers Park. She was in a car in the 6200 block of North Ridge Avenue as someone in the back seat began playing with a gun. The gun discharged, hitting the woman in the lower back. She got herself to St. Francis Hospital and her condition was stabilized.

Just before 9:35 p.m., a 39-year-old man was shot in Gresham. He was in the 7700 block of South Hermitage Avenue when someone shot him in the arm. He went to Advocate Christ Medical Center and his condition was stabilized; police said he was being uncooperative with the investigation.

About 4:35 p.m., a 35-year-old man was shot in West Pullman. He was in a vehicle with a woman in the 12200 block of South Wallace Street when someone fired shots. He was shot in the forehead and the woman was injured by broken glass; they got themselves to MetroSouth Medical Center. The man later was transferred to Stroger Hospital.

About 1:45 p.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the 1500 block of East 60th Street, police said. He suffered a wound to the leg and was taken to Stroger, where he was listed in fair condition, Sweeney said.

At 12:40 p.m., a man was grazed by a bullet in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, police said. The man, believed to be 25, was in the 7400 block of South Kimbark Avenue when he was grazed in the head. His friend drove him to the University of Chicago Medical Center, and he was later taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, according to preliminary information from police.

Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson and Charles J. Johnson contributed.

___

(c)2016 the Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Advertisement