Saturday, May 30, 2015

The slow death of a once great city: 56 shot, 12 killed in violent Memorial Day weekend in Chicago




CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

At least 56 people were shot over Memorial Day weekend between Friday afternoon and early Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

Twelve people, including three shot Monday afternoon, died from their wounds. Twelve others shot between late Monday morning and early Tuesday morning survived their gunshot wounds, bringing the total of non-fatal gunshot victims for the weekend to 44.

Two of the 12 homicide victims were killed Friday night into Saturday morning; our were killed Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning; and three of the victims were killed Sunday night.

The latest killing happened  in the 4900 block of West Erie Street in the Austin neighborhood. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the back and leg about 7:50 p.m. 
and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition, Chicago Police spokesman Officer Thomas Sweeney said. He was later pronounced dead.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday, a 19-year-old man was fatally shot on the first block of East 36th Place in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood, said Sweeney, who did not immediately have information on the circumstances of the shooting. The man suffered a wound to the back and was driven to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. He was transferred in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where he later died, Sweeney said.

Another man was fatally shot just after 2:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of North Hamlin Avenue in the city’s Irving Park neighborhood, said Sweeney. According to preliminary information, a 29-year-old man was a passenger in a car when another car pulled alongside, and someone fired shots. The victim suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he later died, Sweeney said.

In other shootings:
  • A 47-year-old woman was shot by her boyfriend while the two were arguing Tuesday morning in the Austin neighborhood, according to police. The shooting happened about 2 a.m. in the 4800 block of West Madison Street. No one is in custody. The woman was treated for a graze wound at the scene.
  • A 34-year-old man was shot in the 1400 block of East 66th Place about 12:30 a.m. and taken to the University of Chicago Hospital. He was shot in the leg and buttocks by someone who shot him from a passing light-colored SUV while he walked on the street.
  • A 20-year-old man was shot in the foot in the North Austin neighborhood about 12:30 a.m. He was on a porch when someone opened fire from a passing light-colored sedan, police said. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital where his condition had been stabilized.
  • A man was left in critical condition after someone shot him in the Englewood neighborhood about 10:45 p.m. The man was in the 6500 block of South Normal Avenue when someone shot him in the chest. The shooter and the 25-year-old man he shot were in some sort of altercation earlier in the evening, police said. The man shot was taken to Stroger Hospital.
  • A 27-year-old man walked into University of Chicago Hospital with a gunshot wound about 10:30 p.m. Monday. He had been shot in the 7100 block of South Emerald Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood. He was shot in the right hand. The man was standing on the sidewalk when he was shot by someone who walked up to him.
  • A 27-year-old man was wounded in a Rogers Park neighborhood drive-by about 10:10 p.m. The man was hit in the foot and taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston and is in good condition.
  • Two men – 32 and 39 – were shot in the Lawndale neighborhood about 9:55 p.m. The 32-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition with wounds to his left torso. The older man was taken to Stroger Hospital with wounds to both legs, his right shoulder and his groin. He’s in stable condition and the younger man is in critical condition. At least one person from a group of four people opened fire on the men from a nearby gangway, police said.
  • A 20-year-old man was shot in the buttocks about 8:40 p.m. in the Austin neighborhood. The man was wounded in the 5600 block of West Division Street and walked into West Suburban Medical Center to be treated for his wound.
  • A 21-year-old man was shot in the Englewood neighborhood about 7 p.m. on the 5900 block of South Laflin Street, Sweeney said, citing preliminary information. The man suffered a gunshot wound to his buttocks and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, but his condition was not available, said Sweeney.
  • About 11:30 a.m. Monday, a 22-year-old man walked into the Mount Sinai Hospital emergency room and said he had been shot on the 3800 block of West Roosevelt Road, said Officer Janel Sedevic, a Chicago police spokeswoman. The man, who suffered a gunshot wound to the foot, was listed in good condition, Sedevic said.
  • Earlier Monday, a 17-year-old boy was wounded a couple of blocks away from the Roosevelt Road attack in the city’s Lawndale neighborhood. That shooting happened shortly after 11 a.m. in the 1600 block of South Springfield Avenue, said Officer Stacey Cooper, a police spokeswoman. The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the right thigh and was taken to Mount Sinai, Cooper said.
No one was in custody for any of the attacks, and police were investigating.