Former Coach Byrdsong Shot

Former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong was shot in the lower back late Friday while jogging near his home in this Chicago suburb, police said.

Byrdsong, 42, was listed in critical condition at Evanston Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery.

Skokie Police Lieutenant Barry Silverberg said Byrdsong was jogging about a block from his home, accompanied by his 8-year-old son, who was riding a bicycle.

Silverberg said someone in a car fired at least seven shots at Byrdsong, apparently with a .22-caliber handgun.

Byrdsong, fired by Northwestern in March 1997, has lived in the Skokie neighborhood where the shooting took place for about five years, neighbors said.

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