Homicide Watch Chicago

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 13 people were killed in violence in Chicago last week, and a 14th died two months after he was shot. The dead included a 311 operator who was not the intended target of the bullet that killed her just blocks from police headquarter; and a Moroccan man fatally shot in an argument over headphones.

The city employee was the innocent victim of errant gunfire in a gang-related shooting two blocks away from the Chicago Police Departments’s Bronzeville headquarters Friday afternoon, police said.

At 3:52 p.m., a 19-year-old man flagged down officers in the 3500 block of South State saying he had been shot. That’s when officers found 49-year-old Yvonne Nelson on a sidewalk nearby with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nelson, of the 4900 block of South Vincennes, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she died at 4:33 p.m., authorities said. She had been a communications operator for 311 City Services since 2002.

The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds to the hand and buttocks. Police said he was a documented gang member and the intended target of the shooting.

The most recent killing was a 20-year-old man shot and killed Sunday afternoon in the Park Manor neighborhood on the South Side. Gregory Carr was walking down the street in the 6900 block of South Wabash about 4 p.m. when a dark SUV pulled up and someone inside opened fire, hitting him in upper body, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 21 people died from violence in the bloodiest week of the year last week in Chicago, including three members of the same family who were shot to death in their home by a man who later took his own life in a standoff with police.

Also killed during the week were a young man whose turnaround story of going from the gang life to student leader was detailed in a CNN documentary; a girl who was both an honor student and track star at Jones College Prep; and a man who served several years as a correctional officer at the Cook COunty Jail.

Eight people died over the weekend, including 17-year-old aspiring rapper Stacey Fluckes, who performed as LilMuney TheRapper. He was shot to death Sunday night in North Lawndale.

Officers responded to a call of shots fired about 9 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Karlov, where they found Fluckes unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:26 p.m..

Willie Jones was fatally shot Sunday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 0-100 block of North Lorel at 2:33 p.m. found the 35-year-old unresponsive in an alley, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He suffered gunshot wounds to the head and back, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:36 p.m..
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 21 people, including four boys 16 and younger, died as a result of violence last week in Chicago. Eight of those died over a Mother’s Day weekend during which more than 50 people were shot, in spite of pleas from women’s and church groups to put down the guns.

And the number of homicides could go up. The body of woman was in the back of a car in an auto impound lot on the Far South Side on Saturday, and officials have yet to release name of autopsy results.

Mother’s Day did not prove to be a deterrent to violence as many were hoping, with four fatal shootings reported.

A 16-year-old boy was shot to death Sunday afternoon in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. Nathan Hicks, 16, was found in the street about 3:20 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Arthington with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4 p.m. He lived in the 4700 block of West Gladys.

A man was killed and a woman injured in a shooting Sunday afternoon in West Garfield Park. Deshawn Thompson, 20, and a 19-year-old woman were sitting on a porch just before 1 p.m. in the 200 block of South Karlov when someone walked up and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least five people were killed in gun violence in the final week of April in Chicago, ending a month in which homicides were up 3 percent from last year. And while that is not a good number, it did halt a trend of murders rising by large numbers over a year ago.

There were 36 murders this April, one more than in April 2015, the Chicago Police Department said Sunday. In the first four months of 2016, there have been 175 murders—51 in January, 43 in February, 45 in March and 36 in April, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

In a sixth homicide case, reckless homicide and other charges were filed in the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a vehicle Saturday night while crossing busy Archer Avenue near Midway Airport.

The final homicide of the month was a man killed he got into a shootout with a teenager Saturday afternoon in the South Side Washington Park neighborhood.

Deitrick Stogner, 36, and a 17-year-old boy were shooting at each other in the 100 block of West Garfield Boulevard about 1:20 p.m., according to police.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

An explosion of gun violence over the weekend left at least six people and dead and 38 more wounded across the city, bringing the week’s total to at least 12 people dead in Chicago violence.

The week’s death toll included five people killed and 12 wounded in a series of five mass shootings on the South Side.

The violent weekend culminated with a mass shooting Sunday night in West Englewood in which someone got out a vehicle and fired shots at a group of people sitting outside on a front porch, according to Chicago Police.

When the shooting stopped about 11:10 p.m., Devin Hamb and Davon Barrett were dead, and three other people wounded. The group was sitting on a front porch in the 2000 block of West 68th Place about 11:10 p.m. when someone got out of a vehicle and opened fire, according to police.

Hamb, 27, was shot in the chest and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 500 block of East 72nd Street.

Barrett, 38, was shot in the neck, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. Monday, according to the medical examiner’s office. He lived on the same block where the shooting happened.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least six people were fatally shot in Chicago last week, and a woman died more than eight years after being severely beaten by her boyfriend, who is serving a prison sentence for the attack.

A 32-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Officers responding to a call of person shot about 1:25 a.m. found Fredrick Lee Blount lying in the street near the corner of West 13th Street and South Central Park Avenue.

The victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Family members said Blount has a 1-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son and three sisters.

Two men were killed and a third wounded when a man who was not allowed inside a party came back and started shooting late Friday in Englewood.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Even unseasonably cold weather didn’t stop the violence last week in Chicago, where at least 11 people were fatally shot and another man was stabbed to death. A 13th fatality, also linked to gun violence, was a man who died six years after being shot on the West Side.

The latest fatality was man found shot to death Sunday morning in the Marquette Park neighborhood. Officers responding about 11:25 a.m. to a call of a person on the ground found 18-year-old Dennis Bradford III unresponsive in the 6500 block of South Fairfield, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Bradford, who lived in the 6200 block of South Mozart, had suffered gunshot wounds to the head and wrist, and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

A 28-year-old man died Sunday morning after being dropped off at a Far South Side hospital with a gunshot wound to the left hip, according to police.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 10 people were killed in Chicago last week, with four fatal shooting on Thursday, including a former star high school basketball player and a man shot while trying to rob two other men.

The last homicide of the week was a man who died Sunday after he was shot while working as a bouncer late Saturday at an Irving Park neighborhood bar. Angel Ortiz Jr., 51, was working about 11:40 p.m. at Brudder’s Sports Bar at 3600 North Pulaski when someone fired shots from the street into the window, according to Chicago Police.

He was shot in the head and was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died Sunday, according to police.

A 56-year-old man was found fatally stabbed inside an Irving Park neighborhood shop Friday afternoon. Officers called to check a report of a broken window at the store in the 3900 block of North Pulaski about 5 p.m. found Petro Rymar dead at the scene with multiple injuries, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

T-shirts were posted on the South and Southeast sides on Sunday, calling on Chicagoans to put away the guns on Easter Sunday. | Facebook

The Rev. Karen Mooney, one of the organizers of the “Thou Shalt Not Murder” campaign, realized it was a start, but not a true victory.

“I find myself grateful that, by grace, no murders happened on Easter Sunday. Twelve people were shot, our victory hollowed, but through the hard work of first responders and medical professionals, no one has died,” she posted on the Thou Shalt Not Murder Facebook page.

“For all those who have helped through prayer and work and witness, I am grateful that you brought your talent and time and faith to bring hope into our world. Grateful that memorials were placed, events held, articles written and ideas shared.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 12 people died from violence in Chicago last week, including four men fatally shot on primary election day. Three of the victims died days or weeks after being shot, including a woman who died four days after being wounded by a man in a domestic murder-suicide.

The latest fatal shooting left a 23-year-old man dead and a 26-year-old man critically wounded Sunday afternoon in Albany Park. A male wearing a baseball hat and dark jacket fired shots in the 4800 block of North Albany about 2:45 p.m. The suspect took off on a bicycle after the shooting, Chicago Police said.

The younger man, identified as Christian Ortiz, suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and police. He lived in the 2400 block of West Bryn Mawr.

The older man suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was taken in critical condition to Masonic Medical Center, police said.

Jeanette Laureano was fatally shot Friday evening in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Read more