2 gas station employees among 3 shot in Brighton Park

Two gas station employees were among three people shot Tuesday night in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side.

Four people were chasing a 25-year-old man in the 3400 block of South California Avenue when two of them began shooting at him, Chicago police said. The shooting happened about 10:10 p.m.

The man ran into Thorntons Fuel Station, 3401 S. California Ave., and one of the gunmen followed and opened fire, striking him and two gas station workers, police said.

The man was shot in his abdomen and both legs, officials said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

One gas station employee, a 26-year-old man, was shot in his mouth and taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition, officials said.

A second employee, 25, was shot in the back and taken to Mount Sinai in good condition, authorities said.

Two suspects were seen on security footage dressed in all black, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Two cars, one belonging to one of the injured employees’ girlfriends and one belonging to the intended target, remained in the parking lot Wednesday.

The gas station was temporarily closed as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, and red-and-yellow caution tape blocked the parking lot, gas pumps and entrance. The front door was boarded up with a sign apologizing for the closure.

A man who works nearby decried the violence and called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to do more to address gun violence.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and this is as bad as I’ve ever seen it in 53 years,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “Something’s gotta stop. … The police are doing what they can, but their hands are tied.”

No one was in custody.