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Elderly Woman Shot In Brighton Park

CHICAGO (CBS) -- An elderly woman was shot in the back while sitting in her car Wednesday evening at a stop sign in the Brighton Park neighborhood.

The 76-year-old victim was braking for a stop sign at 40th Street and Campbell Avenue at about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday when she first felt pain in her lower back.

She kept driving, but it became obvious that she'd been hit by a stray bullet by the time she reached Garfield Boulevard and Western Avenue, about two miles away. She stopped there and flagged down police.

Officers discovered a stray bullet had pierced the trunk of the woman's Buick Lacrosse, flew through the back seat and the driver's seat, striking her in the back.

Police said it's unlikely, but unknown, if she was an intended target.

Chicago Fire Department paramedics transported her in serious condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Police said she was alert and conscious at the scene. Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said she was listed in serious condition because of the bullet's location and her age.

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