Two youngsters, one of them 12 years old, were critically hurt Thursday afternoon in a shooting in the city’s Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side, according to Chicago police.

The boys, aged 12 and 15, had a physical squabble with an “unknown number” of people in a vacant lot in the 600 block of West 47th Street around 3:45 p.m., when one of the others pulled a handgun and opened fire, police said.

The 12-year-old was struck in the chest, while the older teen was hit in the hip area, police said. Both youths were rushed to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, according to police and fire officials.

Police had not released a description of the shooter or made any arrests as the investigation was just getting underway.

Check back for updates.

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