At least 11 people were homicide victims in Chicago last week, including a 66-year-old man fatally struck by a vehicle as the driver was speeding away from a traffic stop.
And that number could go up as authorities investigate a suspicious fire that claimed two lives in Garfield Ridge, and the death of an elderly woman in the same incident that killed the pedestrian.
In the latest fatal incident in a weekend in which 3 people were killed and another 31 injured by gunfire, a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 17-year-old boy injured in a shooting in Chatham early Sunday, Chicago Police said.
The teenagers were standing on the sidewalk in the 8200 block of South Ingleside about 1 a.m. when someone approached on foot and fired shots at them, police said.
DeJaun Pitchford, 16, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived on the same block where he was shot. Read more
DeJaun Pitchford was on the block where he lived in Chatham early Sunday when the 16-year-old was killed and another teenager injured in a shooting, police said.
The teens were standing on the sidewalk in the 8200 block of South Ingleside about 1 a.m. when someone approached on foot and fired shots at them, Chicago Police said.
Pitchford suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived on the same block where he was shot.
The 17-year-old was shot in the leg and was also taken to Christ Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, police said.
Police are investigating whether the shooting was gang-related.
Adrian Jeffries, a 44-year-old Michigan man, was shot to death late Saturday in West Englewood.
Jeffries was standing on a sidewalk about 11:05 p.m. in the 6000 block of South Throop when someone got out of a black SUV and opened fire, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He was struck in the head and back, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 2 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
Jeffries was from Holland, Mich., about 30 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with the fatal shooting of Eric Washington earlier this year in University Village on the Near West Side.
Dejon Curtis | Chicago Police
Dejon Curtis faces two counts of murder in addition to charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated battery on an occupied vehicle for the April 29 attack in the 1200 block of West Washburne, according to Chicago Police.
Shortly after noon, the 25-year-old Washington was standing in a parking lot near his home on the block when he was shot in the back and abdomen, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Washington was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m., authorities said.
Curtis, of the 8600 block of South Marshfield, appeared in court Saturday, and was ordered held without bond, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.
John Short died after he was shot Wednesday evening in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side.
The 23-year-old was in an alley in the 1100 block of West 51st Street about 7:30 p.m. when someone approached him, pulled a handgun and started firing, police said.
Short, who lived a block away in the 1000 block of West 51st, was shot in the back and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Jeremy Salinas was murdered by Satan Disciples the same day members of the gang stole his bicycle and sent pictures of it on social media, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.
Omar Hernandez | Cook County sheriff’s office
Witnesses to the June 10 shooting said the 17-year-old Salinas was gunned down while trying to retrieve his bicycle in Bridgeport.
Omar Hernandez was behind the wheel of the drive-by shooting in the 900 block of 32nd Place, assistant state’s attorney Jennifer Keating said at Hernandez’s bond hearing Thursday.
While Keating didn’t give details as to what Salinas was doing when he was shot outside a home while standing with other Latin Kings that night, she did say Salinas’ bicycle was stolen earlier in the afternoon.
Members of the Satan Disciples had contacted Salinas’ friend over social media, and further taunted the pal with pictures of the bike, prosecutors said. Read more
A Roseland man eluding police crashed into other motorists during the South Side chase, killing 66-year-old Willie Owens and injuring four others, including an elderly woman who ended up paralyzed as a result of the injuries she suffered, prosecutors alleged on Thursday.
Paul Forbes, who was driving on a suspended license, ran two red lights in Monday’s incident and almost struck a CTA bus at 75th and King Drive.
Instead, Forbes crashed into two cars at a high rate of speed, causing a deadly chain reaction that claimed the life of Owens, Cook County prosecutors said at a bond hearing for Forbes.
Officers were chasing the 26-year-old after he fled away at a high rate of speed when they tried to stop him for a traffic violation in the 7500 block of South St. Lawrence, authorities said. Read more
A man who tried to flee a traffic stop Monday evening and caused a crash that killed 66-year-old Willie Owens has been charged with murder.
Paul Forbes | Chicago Police
Paul Forbes, 26, is charged with one count of murder, one count of aggravated fleeing, and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, all felonies, according to Chicago Police. He was also charged with misdemeanor driving with a suspended license, and was cited for disobeying a red light.
Forbes was driving a Pontiac Bonneville when officers pulled him over for a traffic violation about 7:35 p.m. Monday in the 7500 block of South St. Lawrence, police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.
When the officers got out of their squad vehicle, the Pontiac took off westbound on 75th Street, Greer said.
The car blew a red light at 75th and King Drive, hit a Subaru in the intersection and continued fleeing, police said. Read more
Kortney Blakes was killed and three other men injured in a shooting Wednesday morning in a park in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on West Side.
The shooting happened at Horan Park in the 3000 block of West Van Buren at 10:36 a.m., according to Chicago Police.
Blakes, 23, was shot in the head and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:07 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Blakes had lived in the 3200 block of West Polk.
Another 23-year-old man was shot in the upper left shoulder; and a 22-year-old man was shot in the right leg, police said. Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition. A fourth victim, a man in his 20s, was shot in the abdomen and was in serious condition at Mount Sinai.
William Carter, who was injured in a shooting along with two other people Monday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood, died Tuesday night.
The three men were in the 1100 block of North Cicero about 6 p.m. Monday when two people walked up and opened fire, police said.
The 24-year-old Carter was shot in the upper body and was taken to Stroger Hospital, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Carter, of the 1100 block of North LeClaire, died at the hospital at 6:53 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.
Another man, 26, was shot in the head and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition, police said. A third man, 42, was shot in the upper right arm and taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
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…
