Teen boy fatally shot in West Rogers Park

CHICAGO - A 17-year-old boy was shot to death early Monday in West Rogers Park on the North Side.

He was standing in an alley about 2:50 a.m. in the 6400 block of North Hamilton Avenue when someone fired shots, according to a statement from Chicago police.

His friends nearby heard him call for help and they called 911, police spokeswoman Sally Bown said.

The 17-year-old was shot in the back and taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he died, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Arturo Munoz of Evanston.

No one is in custody as Area Three detectives conduct a homicide investigation.

The 17-year-old was the youngest of nine people killed in weekend gun violence across Chicago.

West Rogers Park has seen several shootings in past weeks:

--On Sept. 13, a woman was grazed by a bullet in a shooting that also struck several buildings in the 6200 block of North California Avenue, including a Chicago Fire Department firehouse.

--Aug. 8, a 54-year-old man was shot to death in an alley in the 7300 block of North Western Avenue.

--On July 31, teenage activist Caleb Reed was fatally shot in the neighborhood, allegedly by a friend who was firing shots at a vehicle in the 1900 block of West Granville Avenue.

--July 5, a 10-year-old girl was shot and wounded in the in the 7400 block of North Artesian Avenue.

Chicago police’s 24th District, which encompasses West Rogers Park, has seen a 78% increase in shootings in 2020 compared to the same time last year, according to official police statistics. The district has seen 32 shootings this year through Sept. 13, compared with 18 shootings within the same period in 2019. Murders in the district have doubled this year to six, compared to three during the same time in 2019.