Chicago closing in on 200 homicides just four months into the year
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CHICAGO - Nearly twice as many people were shot in Chicago this past weekend as the previous one, with homicides closing in on the 200 mark just four months into the year.
To date this year, at least 1,040 people have been shot in Chicago and there have been at least 195 homicides.
Violent crime has risen 4% since the start of the year, according to a report released by the Chicago Police Department over the weekend. The violent crime rate in April was up 20% compared to April of last year.
Carjackings, however, have fallen by 55% since their peak in the winter, according to the department’s statistics.
Five people were killed and at least 40 others wounded in shootings across Chicago this weekend.
In the weekend’s latest deadly shooting, a boy, 17, was driving along West Ferdinand near Cicero in West Garfield Park when someone on the sidewalk opened fire. He was hit in the face and crashed the car into a light pole.
The boy was taken to Loretto Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Kamaree Burnett.
Earlier Sunday afternoon in Humboldt Park on the West Side, a man was shot dead and another wounded.
The men were outside about 2 p.m. on North Ridgeway when someone walked up and opened fire.
One man, 34, was struck in the shoulder and leg and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he died, police said. The other man, 40, was in good condition with gunshot wounds to the arm and abdomen.
One man was killed and another critically wounded in a shooting Saturday in Englewood on the South Side.
Just before midnight, the men, 27 and 30, were outside in the 5600 block of South Morgan Street when they heard shots and felt pain, police said.
The 27-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the hip, shoulder and buttocks, police said. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Benjamin Dawkins.
The 30-year-old man was struck multiple times in the shoulder and taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.
About 45 minutes earlier, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle in Burnside on the South Side.
The man was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle about 11:15 p.m. traveling in the 800 block of East 87th Place when someone fired shots in his direction, police said.
The man was struck three times in the head and twice in the arm, police said. He was taken to Jackson Park Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. The medical examiner’s office has not yet identified him.
A 37-year-old man was fatally shot during a fight Saturday night in West Pullman on the Far South Side.
Travis Willis was standing outside with a group of people in the 11800 block of South Lafayette Avenue about 10:50 p.m. when he began arguing with another male, according to Chicago police and the medical examiner’s office.
The two started physically fighting and the other male shot Willis once in the head and fled, police said.
Willis was transported to Roseland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.
In nonfatal attacks, five people were wounded, one critically, in a shooting Sunday night in the Near West Side.
The group was standing outside in the 2100 block of West Adams Street about 11:10 p.m. when a gray Audi SUV, with three people inside, drove by and someone began firing shots at the crowd, police said.
A 29-year-old suffered two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said. A second man, 20, was struck twice in the back and taken to the same hospital in good condition, police said.
A 32-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the foot and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, according to police.
Another woman, 26, suffered a graze wound to the foot and a third woman, 21, was struck in the leg, police said. Both women were taken to Rush Hospital in good condition.
A teenage boy was shot Sunday morning in the West Chesterfield neighborhood on the South Side.
Someone got out of a black SUV and fired shots at the boy, 17, about 10:55 a.m. as he stood outside in the 300 block of East 95th Street, police said. The boy fired back, but was struck in the back and lower buttocks, police said. The SUV fled in an unknown direction.
The was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, Chicago fire officials said.
A 29-year-old man was shot Sunday while filling up his vehicle at a gas station in East Ukrainian Village.
The man was at a gas station about 2:35 a.m. in the 1900 block of West Augusta Boulevard when a male approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and went to St. Mary’s Medical Center in good condition, police said.
A 14-year-old boy was shot Saturday night in Grand Crossing on the South Side.
About 7:05 p.m., he was on the sidewalk in the 7200 block of South Blackstone Avenue, when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He was struck in the hand, calf and grazed on the head, and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.
Another teenage boy was critically hurt in a shooting Friday night in Lawndale.
The boy, 17, was standing in front of a home about 7:35 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue when someone approached him and fired shots, police said. He suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was transported to Mount Sinai in critical condition, police said.
At least 29 other people were hurt in shootings between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.
Last weekend four people were killed and 21 others wounded in shootings across Chicago.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.