Police: 3-year-old shot and killed while riding in car with his father in Austin

A 3-year-old boy was shot and killed when someone opened fire at his father while they were driving Saturday evening in Austin.

The toddler was struck in the back about 6:25 p.m. when someone in a blue Honda pulled behind the black SUV the boy’s 27-year-old father was driving in the 600 block of North Central Avenue and fired several rounds, according to Chicago Police Chief of Operations Fred Waller.

A police source said the father was believed to be the target.

The father drove the boy to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Waller said, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the shooting “a heinous, unconscionable act of cowardice” and said the boy “had his whole life ahead of him.”

Lightfoot urged people to come forward with information.

In addition, the mayor warned: “To the despicable individuals responsible for this senseless act of violence, you have no place in this city, no home in our communities, no shelter to hide.”

Community activist Andrew Holmes said he was offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter, who he called “a straight coward.”

The family was grieving and frustrated — emotions Holmes said he understood after losing members of his own family, including his daughter, to gun violence.

Police said the father also suffered a graze wound to his abdomen in the shooting.

No one was immediately taken into custody.