WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 19 killed in Chicago violence, seven during bloody final weekend of July

Jeff Mayes — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:00:57 -0500

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Sun-Times file photo

At least 19 people were victims of violence in Chicago last week, and while there were fewer homicides in July that in June, according to Chicago Police statistics, the city is still a large in increase over last year.

There were 65 homicides in Chicago in July, according to police. There were 71 homicides in June and 66 in May.

That brings the year's total to 381 homicides as of July 31, up about 44 percent from last year, when the city had 264 murders through July 31.

Police said 2,394 people have been shot in the city so far in 2016, including 441 in July. In the same time period last year, 1,564 people had been shot.

July was capped by a bloody weekend that saw 51 people shot, seven of them fatally.

In the week's final homicide, Jeffery Arnold Jr. was shot to death Sunday evening in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. The 20-year-old was standing in the 3000 block of West Fifth Avenue at 5:28 p.m. when three males got out of an SUV and began shooting, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Arnold was shot in the head, and died at Mount Sinai Hospital.
A west suburban couple were killed in a murder-suicide Sunday afternoon in Austin. A man shot his wife as she came out of church in the 5700 block of West Chicago Avenue about 2 p.m., then shot himself in the mouth, according to police and the medical examiner's office.
The woman, identified as 38-year-old Trinyce L. Sanders-Wilson, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man, 40-year-old Roshaun D. Wilson, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died minutes later, authorities said. They both lived in Broadview.
A man was shot to death early Sunday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. About 1 a.m., 27-year-old Latrell Gipson was walking on the sidewalk in the 200 block of North Kostner when he heard shots and felt pain, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Gipson was shot in the head and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 1:10 a.m.
A 21-year-old man was shot to death in the Woodlawn neighborhood Saturday evening. About 7:15 p.m., he was sitting in a vehicle parked in the 6600 block of South Champlain when an SUV pulled up and someone inside opened fire, hitting him multiple times, according to police. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he later died. His identity had not been released as of Tuesday afternoon.
A woman was shot to death, another woman was wounded, and two more were stabbed during a fight early Saturday in Austin. The four women got into a fight with another group of women about 3:20 a.m. in the first block of North Leclaire Avenue, according to police.
Marteace Rhone, 27, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. A 21-year-old woman shot in the left ear was taken to a hospital. A 28-year-old woman was stabbed in the left hand and took herself to West Suburban Medical Center, and another 28-year-old woman was stabbed in the left wrist and right arm, and took herself to Rush Oak Park Hospital. Their conditions were stabilized.
A 21-year-old man was shot to death Friday evening in Ashburn. About 7:15 p.m., Ural J. Durant was standing near an SUV parked in the 2400 block of West 79th Street when two people walked out of a gangway and started shooting at the vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Durant was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV, which had been reported stolen, sped away and crashed into a building down the street at 79th and Artesian, police said. An unknown number of people inside it ran away. It wasn’t clear if Durant was the intended target.
A 17-year-old boy was shot to death in the Chatham neighborhood Friday evening. About 5:45 p.m., officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 700 block of East 82nd Street found Denear Dashaun Scott lying on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to authorities. Scott was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.
Paul Farlinger was was killed and another man injured in a drive-by shooting Friday afternoon in the Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side. The victims were in the 2000 block of North Laporte at 2:42 p.m. when a vehicle approached and someone inside fired shots, according to police.
Farlinger, 49, was struck in the abdomen and shoulder, and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A 21-year-old man was shot in the ankle, and was taken in good condition to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, authorities said.
A man was shot to death Friday morning in the Englewood neighborhood. At 5:58 a.m., officers responded to a call of a person shot in the 6500 block of South Peoria and found the man, thought to be in his 20s, unresponsive, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name had not been released as of Tuesday afternoon.
A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the South Chicago neighborhood Thursday night. Demarius Roseman was in the 8000 block of South Escanaba about 10:40 p.m. when someone in a nearby vacant lot shot him, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Roseman was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead 25 minutes later.
Two men were shot — one fatally — in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Thursday night. The two were standing in the 7700 block of South Loomis about 10:15 p.m. when someone got out of a white van and opened fire, police said.
Johnathan Lane, 23, was shot in the head, and a 25-year-old was shot in the abdomen, according to authorities. Both were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition. Lane was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m. Friday, according to the medical examiner’s office.
A 19-year-old man died one day after he was shot in the head Wednesday afternoon in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Officers responded to a person shot in the 4000 block of West Van Buren at 2:26 p.m. and found Demetrius Paskel with a gunshot wound to the head, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Paskel was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:43 p.m. Thursday, according to the medical examiner’s office. Police said Paskel was standing on the sidewalk when someone walked up, pulled out a handgun and fired shots. The shooter then ran away eastbound.
A man and woman were killed and two other people wounded in a shooting early Thursday at a Back of the Yards neighborhood block party; and a teenage girl who witnessed the shooting suffered an asthma attack and died.
At 12:18 a.m., an altercation broke out over a parking space in the 800 block of West 50th Place, and someone started shooting, according to police. Denzel M. Childs, 25, was shot in the neck, head and chest; and died at Stroger Hospital. Kayana Q. Armond, 34, was shot in the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

A 21-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the left hand and was also taken to St. Bernard Hospital, while a 25-year-old woman was taken to Stroger Hospital with gunshot wounds to the back. Both of their conditions stabilized, police said. Jessica Williams, 16, witnessed the shooting and suffered an asthma attack, authorities said. She was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m.
A 32-year-old man was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in West Englewood. Keith Jackson was driving in the 2000 block of West 68th Place about 1:30 p.m. when someone on foot opened fire on his vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Jackson was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead half an hour later, authorities said. He died of a gunshot wound to the neck.
A woman was shot to death early Wednesday in the South Chicago neighborhood. Africa S. Bass, 23, was walking on the sidewalk in the 8700 block of South Burley about 12:05 a.m. when someone nearby in a black SUV fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Bass, who had just moved to the block where the shooting occurred, was shot in the back and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
An 18-year-old man was killed and two teenage boys wounded in a shooting Tuesday morning in Austin. The group was standing on the sidewalk in the 100 block of North Laporte Avenue about 11:10 a.m. when two males emerged from an alley and fired shots, according to police. The suspects ran northbound after the shooting.
Keyon Boyd, 18, was shot in the shoulder and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died less than an hour later. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the left shoulder and was also taken to Stroger; and a 13-year-old boy was shot in both legs and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Both of their conditions were stabilized.
A man was killed and a woman critically injured in a shooting Monday afternoon in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Vincent Davis Sr., 43; and a 22-year-old woman were sitting in a vehicle at 4:24 p.m. in the 6600 block of South Michigan when someone opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner's office.
Davis suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner's office said. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center.
Jonathan Mills, a standout basketball player at North Lawndale and Southern Miss, was shot and killed Monday afternoon near his former West Side high school. The 26-year-old was outside a store in the 4100 block of West Roosevelt Road at 1:27 p.m. when someone approached and opened fire, according to police. Mills suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was dead at the scene.
Mills, the father of two daughters, played with Southern Miss in the NCAA Tournament in 2012. After college, he played basketball overseas. The 2009 North Lawndale graduate helped lead the Phoenix to the 2008 Class 2A state championship and the 2009 city title.

On Thursday, Travell Taylor, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the shooting.

The week's homicide total could increase as officials investigate the death of a woman found Wednesday afternoon in a garbage bag in a Chatham neighborhood garage. She was identified as a 20-year-old Shante Bohanan, who had been reported missing on Sunday.

About 3 p.m. Wednesday, officers responding to a report of a body in the 500 block of East 92nd Street found her in a garage. Sources said the body was discovered in a garbage bag. An autopsy on Bohanan, who went by “Te Te,” was inconclusive, with results pending further investigation.

Young mother Africa Bass shot to death on street one day after moving into South Chicago home

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 09:52:46 -0500

Africa S. Bass, a young mother of two, was shot to death early Wednesday, the day after moving into the South Chicago neighborhood.

Chicago Police investigate a fatal shooting early Wednesday in the 8700 block of South Burley. | Network Video Productions

Bass, 23, was walking on the sidewalk in the 8700 block of South Burley about 12:05 a.m. when someone nearby in a black SUV fired shots, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Bass, who lived on the same block as the shooting, was shot in the back, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 12:51 a.m., authorities said.

Bass, who neighbors said had just moved into an apartment in the neighborhood Tuesday, leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter and a boy who turned 5 on the day she was killed.

She was reportedly walking to the store when the gunmen opened fire on someone walking ahead of her.

Police said a possible suspect was in custody early Wednesday, but that person was later released without charges as Area South detectives investigate.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Africa S. Bass | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 19 killed in Chicago violence, seven during bloody final weekend of July

Young mother Africa Bass shot to death on street one day after moving into South Chicago home