Girl, 16, wounded in South Side shooting in Heart of Chicago neighborhood

A16-year-old girl is in stable condition Tuesday after being shot in the upper chest. Witnesses say she was simply walking with a friend down a sidewalk when the gunfire began.

March 18, 2014 9:07:46 PM PDT

March 18, 2014 (CHICAGO) --

A teenager was shot in the chest while walking on the city's South Side in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood.

A16-year-old girl is in stable condition Tuesday after being shot in the upper chest. Witnesses say she was simply walking with a friend down a sidewalk when the gunfire began.

On Tuesday night, bullet holes mark the spot where the shooting ended this food market that was full of customers.

"It was like one after another. Like he was standing literally outside, and I was looking at him. And he was shooting inside," said Norma Yanez, store employee.

It happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon at the corner of 18th and Wood.

Witnesses say it began with a foot chase, the teenage gunman firing at another young man. As they ran east on 18th Street, a stray bullet instead hitting a 16-year-old girl in the upper chest.

"She looked stable. She didn't look like she was, like with her eyes closed and wasn't moving," said Federico Yanez, witness.

"She was lying down on the stairway. So she was responsive, but yet in pain," said Sonia Yanez, owner, Meztisoy Food Market.

But the shooting didn't stop. Store employee Norma Yanez was outside, a bullet whizzing by her head.

"Some guy was coming towards me shooting, so I came into the store. And then the guy they were shooting at came in after me," said Norma Yanez.

After the man who was the intended target ran into the store, the gunman stood outside firing a handful of shots through the window. The bullets hitting this sign, a coffee machine and other items on a front table, but missing the 15 or so people in the store.

"He was thinking about coming in, but he ran off," said Sonia Yanez.

"I just didn't think it was happening. I didn't think it was happening. I was just like in shock," said Norma Yanez.

Police have not offered a motive for the shooting, but some neighborhood residents believe it may have been gang-related, perhaps retaliation for another shooting that they say happened in the neighborhood Monday.