Chicago Police reported nearly four dozen murders in May, and the city is averaging more than a killing a day so far this year.
The 46 slayings in May, as measured by the Chicago Police Department, are the most in any month this year, but the total is not out of the ordinary. Police reported 47 homicides in May 2013, and 50 in May 2012. There were 40 killings during the month last year.
Chicago now has 161 murders for the year — the highest total through the first five months of the year since 2012, when 208 people had been killed by June 1. Read more
At least 14 people were killed throughout Chicago last week.
Seven of the killings happened over the weekend, when at least 24 other people were wounded by gunfire.
The most recent killings happened minutes apart on the West Side.
A 53-year-old man was fatally shot in the 4900 block of West Lake Street in the Austin community about 7:10 p.m. Sunday, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet released his name.
Less than five minutes later, a 27-year-old man was shot while standing on a sidewalk in the 100 block of North Cicero Avenue in Austin, police said. The medical examiner’s office has not yet released his name. Read more
A 29-year-old man slit a man’s throat in a Pilsen bar because he believed the man was talking to his girlfriend, prosecutors said.
Ulises Almaraz, 29, of Berwyn, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is also bipolar and stopped taking medication, according his attorney.
Almaraz was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Rodolfo “Rudy” Avina in Simone’s Bar early Saturday.
Almaraz and a woman went to the bar at 960 W. 18th St. about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. While at the bar, the woman talked to both Almaraz and Avina, who she also knew, Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Cooper said. Read more
After leaving his bloody footprints all over a Southwest Side murder scene where he’d butchered his aunt and cousin, a 20-year-old man was found two blocks away at his mother’s home, hiding in the closet, prosecutors said.
Then Jose Guzman allegedly confessed that he’d killed his relatives “because he wanted to steal their gold.”
Charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, home invasion causing great bodily harm, aggravated arson and one count of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, Guzman was denied bail Sunday by Judge Laura Sullivan.
He fatally stabbed his 49-year-old aunt, Maria Herrera, and his cousin Carlos Herrera on Thursday at their home in the 3600 block of West 55th Place, Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Cooper said.
Then he allegedly tried to torch the house. Read more
Kristopher Pitts was ordered held without bond Sunday after prosecutors claim he fatally shot Kevin O’Malley during a robbery in the Lake View neighborhood.
Pitts robbed O’Malley of his cellphone and cash about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 900 block of West Oakdale Avenue, authorities said.
O’Malley chased after Pitts and, after the two began fighting, Pitts pulled out a small silver revolver and shot O’Malley twice in the chest, Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Cooper said.
O’Malley, 25, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Read more
Demetrius P. Hill Jr. was fatally shot early Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood.
Hill, 19, was shot in the head in the hallway of a building in the 6800 block of South Ridgeland Avenue about 1:25 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Read more
Kristopher Claybon has died more than three months after he was shot near his West Englewood home.
Claybon, 33, was sitting in a vehicle parked outside his home in the 5700 block of South Hermitage Avenue when a gunman in a passing vehicle opened fire about 4:45 p.m. Feb. 16, authorities said. Read more
Ulises Almaraz has been charged with murder for the early Saturday stabbing death of Rodolfo “Rudy” Avina at a popular Pilsen bar, authorities said.
Avina, a father of three who married into the family that owns the famed Nuevo Leon restaurant on 18th Street, was sitting at the bar at Simone’s, a popular spot in the 900 block of West 18th Street, when Almaraz walked up behind him and slit his throat, a relative said authorities said.
Avina, who lived blocks way, was dead at the scene.
Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Rottner said Saturday night the attack “was unprovoked” and that Avina was “an innocent victim.”
Almaraz, 29, of Berwyn, was taken into custody after the stabbing and was charged with first-degree murder, police said. He is scheduled to appear in court Sunday for a bond hearing. Read more
Jose Guzman has been charged for his alleged role in a home invasion and arson that left two people dead last Thursday in the West Elsdon community.
Guzman, 20, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, home invasion causing great bodily harm, aggravated arson causing bodily harm and one count of robbery armed with a dangerous weapon, police said.
On Thursday, Emergency crews found 22-year-old Carlos Herrera and 49-year-old Maria Herrera inside their home in the 3600 block of West 55th Place about 2:50 p.m., authorities said. Read more
Kevin O’Malley spent last week searching for the perfect gift for his girlfriend’s upcoming birthday, a coworker said.
O’Malley won’t get the chance to celebrate that birthday after the 25-year-old was shot to death early Saturday in the Lake View neighborhood.
Authorities said O’Malley got into a fight with another man in the 900 block of West Oakdale Avenue about 2 a.m.
During the fight, the other man pulled out a gun and shot O’Malley twice in the chest, authorities said. He died at the scene. 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…
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