Emanuel attended an anti-violence vigil in Roseland Monday evening where he said everyone — from parents to police to federal lawmakers — must play a role to curb bloodshed in Chicago.
“A lot of people will say where were the police … and that’s a fair question, but not the only question,” Emanuel said. “Where are the parents? Where is the community?”
First of all, I don’t know how you stand there at a anti-violence rally in a community that lost one of its own in a drive-by shooting two nights prior and ask “Where is the community?” That takes some gall. Read more
BYSTEFANOESPOSITO, BRIANSLODYSKOANDFRANKMAIN
Chicago Sun-Times
Hundreds of extra officers were assigned to Chicago streets this past weekend, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said, but by Monday morning, the totals were still depressing: 13 dead and at least 58 wounded in shootings across the city.
McCarthy said his department mostly had a grip on the violence during the holiday weekend until Sunday, when there were 21 shooting incidents.
“Yesterday is the day that really blew it up for us,” McCarthy said, speaking to reporters Monday in the Chicago Police Department’s 10th District. He said his department is still analyzing what might have caused the surge in violence.
Statistics may show that Chicago’s homicide rate is down to levels not seen since the 1960s, but that may not comfort residents of the South and West sides, who saw the bulk of the shootings. Read more
While citywide murder totals declined, the communities with the most killings in recent years continued to lead the city in slayings in the first half of 2014.
“We looked at these communities, and we’ve put additional resources into these communities,” said Robert Tracy, chief of crime control strategies for Chicago Police, who noted that the city also is providing social services to the areas in addition law enforcement. Read more
Chicago Police reported a 5 percent decrease in murders through the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.
The 171 slayings were a 32 percent decrease from the unusually violent first half of 2012, and more modest 8 percent decrease from the start of 2011, police said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office, which counts murders differently, reported 180 homicides so far in 2014 compared to 187 in the first six months of 2013. The difference comes from cases detectives ruled self-defense or involuntary manslaughter, police said.
“We are never going to be happy with the five percent,” said Robert Tracy, Chicago Police chief of crime control strategies. “We are never going to be happy until there are zero shootings, zero murders and zero crime.”
Chicago Police reported a decrease in murders and shooting victims in June 2014 compared to the same month last year.
Police recorded 35 murders last month — eight less than in June 2013. The 35 slayings are also a decrease from June 2012 and 2011, when the city tallied 47 and 45 murders, respectively.
Both numbers are a decrease from the first six months of 2013, when police reported 180 murders and the medical examiner’s office reported 187 homicides. Read more
While nearly 82 percent of Chicago’s 610 homicides since the start of 2013 have been from shootings, 49 people have been stabbed to death.
During that time, the percentage of women stabbing victims was significantly higher than the percentage of women gunshot victims, according to Cook County medical examiner’s office data.
Of the 49 fatal stabbings, 16 were females. And while women made up nearly 33 percent of fatal stabbing victims, they made up only about 0.5 percent of shooting victims in the past 18 months.
In addition to being female, stabbing victims were older than people who were fatally shot. Since the beginning of 2013, the average age of stabbing victims were about 34, while the average age of shooting victims are about 27. Read more
What is Homicide Watch Chicago?
Homicide Watch Chicago is dedicated to the proposition that murder is never a run-of-the-mill story. Attention must be paid to each one, not merely a select and particularly tragic few. We understand the reality of the public’s demand for news - that some stories get more attention than others. But all murders represent a degree of human suffering - direct and indirect - that cannot be ignored. Read more…
