When will it stop?

The sad news from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Eleven-year-old Aston Wise was a passenger in a sport-utility vehicle parked on a South Shore street Friday night when a masked gunman opened fire with a shotgun, killing Aston and critically wounding his father.

Aston, of the 6800 block of South East End Avenue, was shot in the head in the 7800 block of South Kingston, police said. He was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Aston was a sixth-grader at Martha Ruggles Elementary School, 7831 S. Prairie, Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

Police Supt. Jody Weis said detectives are investigating if the shooting was connected to a relative with gang ties.

Weis said Aston had a half brother in the Black Disciplines street gang and that there has been “low-key” conflict between the Black Disciplines and the Gangster Disciples. Police are also looking into the possibility of a carjacking, Weis said.

“We won’t really know until we get a chance to talk with the father,” Weis said. No arrests had been made as of Saturday night.

Another one of our children cut down, this time by a coward with a shotgun.