A teen in a park on the West Side. Two men in their 30s in Uptown on the North Side. A woman in her 20s in the South Side's Morgan Park neighborhood. 
 
 Chicago's most recent spasm of violence touched all corners of the city. 
 
 On Wednesday alone, eight people were shot to death in homicides. A ninth victim — an 11-year-old boy — died of an apparent accidental shooting. 
 
 That marked the most homicides in a single day in Chicago in more than a decade, according to a Tribune analysis of department data. The worst day previously was July 5, 2003, when Chicago saw 10 homicides, the analysis found. 
 
 The spate of violence comes in the waning days of summer as hot and humid weather sent city residents outdoors before Chicago Public Schools classes begin next week. The latest violence has added to a year that already has seen homicides and shootings rise in Chicago and in many big cities across the country. 
 
 Robert Tracy, the department's chief of crime control strategies, said it was unusual for that many homicides to take place in so many different police districts. 
 
 "If you look at the numbers … these shootings took place in different parts of the city," he said. "None of the shootings were connected. They were in eight different districts." 
 
 "It's unfortunate to have this many murders in one day," Tracy said. "Is this the worst it has been? No. We've got to put it into perspective." 
 
 A department spokesman, picking up on a favorite theme of Superintendent Garry McCarthy, blamed the violence on the proliferation of guns. 
 
 "The fact that we lost lives last night is devastating and underscores why the Chicago Police Department is adamant that the city holds gun offenders accountable," said Anthony Guglielmi, director of communications. 
 
 By early Thursday, the toll had risen to 12 killed in homicides over the previous 36-hour span. That would be high even for a weekend, when gun violence normally spikes. The burst of violence began Tuesday afternoon when a teen was killed in Riis Park in the Belmont Central neighborhood and continued until early Thursday with the fatal shooting of a 39-year-old man in Bronzeville. Another 21 people were wounded in shootings during that span. 
 
 Police investigate and relatives gather outside an apartment building on the 6800 block of South Merrill Avenue, where a man was found fatally shot in a hallway area Sept. 2, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune) Police investigate and relatives gather outside an apartment building on the 6800 block of South Merrill Avenue, where a man was found fatally shot in a hallway area Sept. 2, 2015, in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS 
 
 So far this year, homicides in Chicago have risen about 20 percent, to 294 through Aug. 23, up from 244 as of that date a year earlier, according to department statistics. Shooting incidents have spiked for a second consecutive year, up 18 percent through Aug. 23 to 1,535, up from 1,300 a year earlier, the department said. 
 
 Homicides have also jumped in many major cities, including Milwaukee and St. Louis in the Midwest. 
 
 Across the country, an average of 31 people are killed every day by gun violence — not including suicide — and 198 are shot and survive, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for stricter background checks for gun buyers. 
 
 Not included in Wednesday's homicide tally in Chicago was Antwone Price, the 11-year-old who died after he was accidentally shot by a relative who was playing with a gun inside their home in the Park Manor neighborhood. The Police Department, which doesn't classify accidental shootings as homicides, said no charges had been filed against the relative as of Thursday afternoon. 
 
 This was not the first time the family has experienced gun violence. Antwone's father was fatally shot two years ago in the Englewood neighborhood--and his family told the Tribune at that time that his father's father was killed in 2000. 
 
 "He was just a good kid," said Michele Watson, Antwone's grandmother, outside Comer Children's Hospital, where the boy was rushed. "He loved life." 
 
 Family members said the boy was active in his church and dreamed of becoming a funeral director. He even helped make arrangements for his aunt last year after her death. 
 
 "He wasn't your average 11-year-old," said Barbara Sanders, also his grandmother. "He was like a 30-year-old in an 11-year-old body." 
 
 His grandparents said Antwone himself organized his recent transfer to Comer College Prep Middle School, where he started sixth grade about a week ago. 
 
 "He said the previous school wasn't challenging enough for him," Watson said. 
 
 She fondly remembered how Antwone brought fresh flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries for Watson, his mother and his aunt to celebrate Mother's Day. 
 
 Chicago Tribune's Lolly Bowean contributed. 
 
 poconnell@tribpub.com 
 
 achachkevitch@tribpub.com 
 
 pnickeas@tribpub.com ||||| Nine people were killed and at least 12 others wounded in shootings across Chicago Wednesday, including an 11-year-old boy slain by accidental gunfire. 
 
 Wednesday was the deadliest day in the city in over a decade. It approaches the peak of 10 that occurred on July 5, 2003, according to the Chicago Tribune. 
 
 The latest fatal shooting happened about 11:35 p.m. in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. 
 
 • Dan Rance, 23, was outside about 11:35 p.m. in the 700 block of North Long when someone walked up and opened fire, Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Rance, who lived in the same block, was shot in the chest and torso, and was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. 
 
 • About two hours earlier, a 19-year-old man was killed in an Englewood shooting on the South Side. About 9:45 p.m., Jimmy Tripp was in the 800 block of West 68th Street when someone walked up and shot him several times before running off, authorities said. Tripp, who lived in the 7300 block of South Emerald, was dead at the scene, authorities said. 
 
 • Less than an hour earlier, a 60-year-old man was shot dead in South Shore. He was found dead shortly after 9 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head in the hallway of a building in the 6800 block of South Merrill. A police source said the attack might have been narcotics-related. 
 
 • Late Wednesday afternoon, a 19-year-old man was killed and two others wounded in a Belmont Cragin neighborhood shooting on the Northwest Side. About 5:30 p.m., the three men got into a fight with another person who then pulled out a gun and started firing in the 5900 block of West Diversey, according to police.Daniel Guerra, 19, was shot in the neck and chest and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. Guerra lived in the 2100 block of North McVicker. A 23-year-old man shot in the back also was taken to Illinois Masonic in critical condition, and a 22-year-old shot in the hand was taken to Community First Medical Center. His condition stabilized, police said. 
 
 • Wednesday morning, three men were shot—one fatally— in another South Shore attack. Just after 9 a.m., they were standing outside in the 2600 block of East 74th Place when someone walked up and started shooting. Vuan Evans, 25, was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m., authorities said. Evans was from the 3100 block of South Cheltenham Place. A 29-year-old man shot in the back was taken to Stroger Hospital. Police initially said he died but he was listed in critical condition early Thursday. A 50-year-old man was also shot and taken to Jackson Park Hospital. He was in good condition and expected to be released, police said. 
 
 • In the early morning hours, two men were slain in an Uptown neighborhood shooting on the North Side. It happened about 2:15 a.m. in the 5000 block of North Winthrop, where a 32-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A 34-year-old man died after being taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Both men, who had documented gang ties, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said. 
 
 • Wednesday’s first homicide happened about 12:20 a.m. in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. A 25-year-old man was found dead in the 2700 block of West Lexington with gunshot wounds to the head, chest and groin. Police did not provide any other details on the shooting. 
 
 • Additionally, 11-year-old Antwone J. Price died after a family member accidentally shot him in the abdomen about 9 p.m. in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood’s 7400 block of South St. Lawrence. The relative accused of shooting him is in police custody. 
 
 In non-fatal shootings: 
 
 — Two men were shot about 8:30 p.m. in the 10500 block of South LaSalle in the Roseland neighborhood. One man, 20, was shot in the face and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition stabilized, police said. The other man, 26, was taken to another hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg. His condition was not immediately available. 
 
 — An 18-year-old man was shot about 2 p.m. in the 300 block of North Latrobe in the Austin neighborhood. He was taken to Loretto Hospital in good condition, police said. 
 
 — A 41-year-old man was shot in the side in West Englewood’s 6800 block of South Ashland about 1 p.m. He was taken to Christ Medical Center, and police said his condition stabilized. 
 
 — Two men in a vehicle were shot in Humboldt Park on the West Side about 5 a.m. when people yelling gang slogans on the street opened fire, police said. The driver, a 19-year-old man, suffered graze wounds to the forearm and wrist, police said. He drove them to Norwegian American Hospital, where he was listed in good condition. The front seat passenger, a 20-year-old man, was shot in the lower back and listed in critical condition at Norwegian. 
 
 — A 27-year-old man standing outside about 12:45 a.m. in the 2800 block of West Jackson in East Garfield Park heard shots and realized he had been shot twice in the back of the head, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, and he wasn’t cooperating with investigators. 
 
 — A 21-year-old man was shot in the back in Austin’s 100 block of North Central about 12:20 a.m. and taken in critical condition to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, police said. 
 
 Copyright SunTimes / NBC Chicago
– Wednesday marked the deadliest day for Chicago in more than a decade with nine people killed by gunshots in eight different districts across the city. Such gun violence hasn't been seen in Chicago since July 5, 2003, when 10 homicides occurred, reports the Chicago Tribune. Police say the various shootings were unconnected (though two 30-something men did die in one shooting). Among the dead are two 19-year-olds; a woman in her 20s; a 25-year-old man shot in the head, chest, and groin; and a 60-year-old man, NBC Chicago reports. "It's unfortunate to have this many murders in one day," says an officer. "Is this the worst it has been? No. We've got to put it into perspective." Police say one of the nine gunshot deaths wasn't a homicide but was accidental: 11-year-old Antwone J. Price was shot by a family member who was fooling around with a gun. His father and grandfather previously died in shootings, his family says. Over 36 hours from Tuesday afternoon to early Thursday, the death toll reached 12. Homicides have now spiked 20% in Chicago over last year, with 294 as of Aug. 23, compared to 244 by that date in 2014.