A nine-year-old boy has been shot dead as he walked through an alleyway on Chicago's South Side.

Authorities say the boy, who was shot in the head and back in the Auburn Gresham neighbourhood, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief of detectives Constantine Andrews said before the shooting, a number of people were in the alley where the boy's body was found. They left the scene after the shooting.

He said it was not immediately clear if the child was targeted or if the shooting was a case of him being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

No arrests have been made.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.