As the toll from shootings mounted over the long holiday weekend in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson said it would take time and help from the community “to get ourselves out of this rut.”
“Here is what we need to remind ourselves,” Johnson said Monday as he repeated themes from his mayoral campaign. “If we’re going to get ourselves out of this rut, it’s going to take all of us ... Everybody knows if your only strategy is policing — that is the old way of doing things and that has not worked.”
At least 11 people were killed and 63 others wounded in attacks over a long weekend that saw four mass shootings.
Though none of the mass shootings occurred in the Harrison police district on the West Side, it still recorded the highest number of shooting victims: 15. This come after two previous weekends when the district recorded the most shootings in the city.
Last week, interim police Supt. Fred Waller said the district continued to be a “challenge” as he sought to deploy officers where they were needed.
The Calumet district on the Far South Side had 11 people shot over the long weekend. Two people were killed and three were wounded in a single attack at Roseland Park.
The commander of the Calumet district said it was “unfortunate that this occurred because today was a fine day, people just enjoying their family activities. But violence prevails in this city.”
The two districts accounted for about a third of the weekend shootings.
The Memorial Day weekend last month ended with 59 people shot, 11 of them killed — Chicago’s most violent since 2016 and one of the most deadly in the last decade. The city is facing a four-day weekend over the July Fourth holiday.
As he has in the past, Johnson blamed a long history of “disinvestment” for the continuing high toll from gun violence.
“I understand my responsibility but if anyone tells you that they can single-handedly shift the political mindset that has led to the type of disinvestment that is causing the outbreak of the violence we are all experiencing, if anyone person says that they can do that they’re not being honest,” Johnson said.
5 shot outside Lincoln Park Zoo
The first mass shooting of the weekend occurred early Saturday just outside Lincoln Park Zoo.
A group of people were gathered in the 1900 block of North Stockton Drive when an argument broke out and someone pulled out a gun and fired shots around 4:40 a.m., according to Chicago police.
A 17-year-old girl was shot in the buttocks and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition, police said. Three men who suffered multiple gunshot wounds — ages 27, 31 and 44 — went to the same hospital, where all were listed in critical condition, police said. A fourth man, 23, also suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the attack. He showed up at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
4 shot, 1 fatally, in Austin
Just before 3 a.m. Sunday, four men were shot, one fatally, in the Austin neighborhood. The five men were fighting inside a garage in the 5400 block of West Crystal Street when one of them pulled out a gun and opened fire, according to police.
One man, 31, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Another man, whose age was unknown, was shot in the ankle and was taken to the same hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said. The third man, 27, was struck in the leg and arm and drove to Stroger Hospital in fair condition. A fourth man, whose age was unknown, also went to Stroger Hospital and was listed in critical condition with unknown injuries, police said.
2 killed, 3 wounded in Roseland shooting
Later that day, five people were shot, two fatally, in a drive-by attack at a park in Roseland on the Far South Side.
Just before 8 p.m., a gunman in a gray Honda sedan pulled up and fired at a family celebration at Wendell Smith Park in the 9900 block of South Princeton Avenue, Pendarvis told reporters Sunday night.
Responding officers found a 37-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Another man, 33, was shot in the neck and was pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. A 27-year-old man was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the buttocks and left shoulder, police said. Two other men, a 25-year-old who was shot in the torso and a 19-year-old who was shot in both legs, were listed in fair condition at Christ Medical Center, police said.
4 shot, 1 fatally, in Ashburn drive-by
On Monday, a man was killed and three other people, including a 16-year-old boy, were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Ashburn on the South Side.
Just after 2:30 p.m., the four were in a car near the 3200 block of West 79th Street when someone driving in the opposite direction opened fire, police said. The driver of the car crashed into a semi-truck at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue.
A man, 20, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
A 16-year-old boy was struck in the arm and was taken in good condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Two men, 19 and 21, suffered gunshot wounds to the leg, police said. One man was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, and the other went to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Both were in good condition.
15-year-old killed
Saturday afternoon, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death and another teen was wounded in East Garfield Park. The boys were in the 100 block of South Homan Avenue when someone opened fire about 4:45 p.m. The 15-year-old was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The other boy, 14, was taken in critical condition to the same hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Three teens shot in West Garfield Park
Late Monday night, three teens were standing on a porch in the 3800 block of West Gladys Avenue when someone fired shots, striking the two 17-year-old girls and 19-year old man. One of the girls was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the eye, while the other two were listed in good condition.
No arrests have been made and detectives are investigating.
Other fatal shootings
- A man was shot to death Monday morning while driving in the Garfield Park neighborhood. The man, 32, was driving in the 4400 block of West Gladys Avenue when he was shot multiple times throughout his body About 7:25 a.m., police said. His vehicle then struck a parked car, and he was transported to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
- A man was shot and killed at the entrance of a fast-food restaurant in West Pullman Sunday night. Just after 11 p.m., the 32-year-old was fighting with another man in the vestibule of a fast food restaurant in the 11600 block of South Halsted Street when the man opened fire, police said. The 32-year-old was shot in the back and pronounced dead on the scene.
- Hours earlier, a 39-year-old man was shot and killed in Auburn Gresham. He was outside about 9:20 p.m. in the 8800 block of South Kerfoot Avenue when he was shot in the chest, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
- Another man was found shot to death early Sunday in Woodlawn on the South Side. The man, 48, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the 6600 block of South Evans Avenue around 1:30 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
- Just after midnight Saturday, a man was fatally shot in Auburn Gresham on the South Side. Police responded to a call of a person shot in the 1600 block of West 80th Street when they discovered a 58-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the chest shortly after midnight, according to police. Witnesses at the scene told police they heard shots fired and saw the man fall to the ground. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.
- A man died after he was found lying on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound in West Garfield Park Friday night. The 26-year-old was shot in the lower back about 6:30 p.m. in the 3900 block of West Gladys Avenue, according to police. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The shootings occurred between 5 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Tuesday.
