9 killed, 28 wounded in Presidents Day weekend shootings across Chicago

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Nine people were killed and at least 28 others were wounded in Presidents Day weekend shootings across Chicago.

The last fatal shooting of the weekend happened early Tuesday in Englewood. Maurice D. Hutson, 24, was involved in a fight with a group of males about 12:25 a.m. in the 6800 block of South Normal when one of the males pulled out a handgun and fired a shot, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Hutson suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m. He lived in the Roseland neighborhood.

On Monday evening, a boy was shot and killed in the South Side Chatham neighborhood. About 5:20 p.m., 15-year-old Larenzo Smith and a 19-year-old woman were walking in the 7600 block of South Champlain when someone approached them and fired shots, authorities said. Smith, who lived in the same block as the shooting, was shot in the chest and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he died at 6:04 p.m. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her hip and was taken to Christ, where her condition stabilized.

Another 24-year-old man was killed in a shooting Monday morning in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. Dionte Land was arguing with a female about 4:20 a.m. inside a home in the 2200 block of South Keeler when she shot him in the back, authorities said. Land, who lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting, was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:09 a.m.

A few hours earlier, an Uber passenger was shot to death in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side. Patrick D. George, 34, was sitting in the passenger seat of a blue car shortly after 2 a.m. in the 7400 block of South Stony Island Avenue when a tan vehicle pulled up and and someone inside opened fire, striking him in the neck and head, police and the medical examiner’s office said. The Uber driver drove the man to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m.

“We are saddened to hear of this horrifying incident and stand ready to provide any information to police for their investigation,” Uber spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said in a statement. “We extend our thoughts to all those who are mourning the loss of their loved one.”

On Sunday night, a 17-year-old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Hegewisch neighborhood on the Far South Side. Ralph R. Cancel, of Whiting, Indiana, was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle about 5:55 p.m. in the 4000 block of East 134th Street when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, striking him in the head, according to authorities. A passenger in the vehicle drove Cancel to St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond, Indiana, but he was later transferred to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 12:35 p.m. Monday.

On Sunday morning, a man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting in the Scottsdale neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Officers responded at 5:22 a.m. to a call of shots fired in the 7700 block of South Kilbourn and found 23-year-old Andre Franzell in a driveway suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said. Franzell, who lived in the Southwest Side Gage Park neighborhood, was taken to Christ, where he was pronounced dead at 6:21 a.m.

A 27-year-old man was later found to have suffered a gunshot wound to the foot in the shooting, police said. He was also taken to Christ, where he was listed in good condition. Gunfire from the shooting also damaged three vehicles and a home.

Hours earlier, a man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting in the South Side Gresham neighborhood. Laedd T. Jones-Tazrell, 23, and a 33-year-old man were standing on a sidewalk at 12:58 a.m. in the 1500 block of West 80th Street when they heard gunfire and realized they’d been shot, authorities said. The younger man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and the older man was shot in his legs. They were both taken to Christ, where Jones-Tazrell was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. and the older man was listed in good condition.

About 8:50 p.m. Saturday, a man was shot dead in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood on the Far South Side. Courvoisier L.M. Thurman, 28, was walking on a sidewalk in the 700 block of East 133rd Street when someone fired shots, striking him in the head, police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Thurman was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:18 a.m. He lived in the same block as the shooting.

Just over a day earlier, a man was killed in another Far South Side shooting that left a second man critically wounded. Kaprice Griffin, 19, of Joliet, and an 18-year-old man were sitting in a vehicle about 8:15 p.m. in the 10200 block of South Hoxie when a group of males walked up and opened fire, authorities said. Griffin was shot in the head and the younger man suffered a gunshot wound to the back. Both were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where Griffin was pronounced dead at 11:58 p.m. and the other man was listed in critical condition.

The weekend’s last nonfatal shooting happened Monday evening in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. About 7:10 p.m., a 25-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were walking in the 700 block of East 82nd Street when someone approached them and fired shots, police said. The 25-year-old was shot in the leg and the 17-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the hand. Both were taken to Jackson Park Hospital, where their conditions stabilized.

At least 22 more people have been wounded in shootings across Chicago over the holiday weekend. Last weekend, five people were killed and three others were wounded in shootings across the city.