4 dead, 12 wounded during weekend violence

Sun-Times Media Wire — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 10:55:15 -0500

Four men are dead and at least 12 others have been wounded in violence across the city since Friday afternoon.

Police are conducting a homicide investigation after a 19-year-old man was found with at least one stab wound in an alley in the 7600 block of South Carpenter Street about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in the Far South Side Roseland neighborhood.

Jamal Harmon, of the 6700 block of South Parnell Avenue, suffered a laceration to his throat and was pronounced dead on the scene a few minutes after he was found, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Two men were standing outside near East 110th Street and South Vernon Avenue when they were shot by someone in a dark-colored SUV about 10:25 p.m. Saturday in the Far South Side Roseland neighborhood.

Arlanders Watkins, 46, was shot in the head and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 11:09 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

The other man, 21, was shot in the neck and taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Earlier Saturday, one man was killed and another was wounded when shots were fired in West Pullman, also on the Far South Side.

The two men, both 19, were in the 11700 block of South Morgan Street when a shooter fired upon them about 2:20 p.m., authorities said.

Cory Atwater, who lived on the same block where he was shot, was shot in the head and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died about an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The other man was shot in the foot, according to police, who said the injury was not life-threatening.

The weekend’s first homicide occurred Friday evening on the West Side, when 36-year-old Louis Wherry was shot to death following an argument with another man in the Austin neighborhood, authorities said.

Authorities said that at about 7:50 p.m. Wherry was in the 400 block of South Central Avenue arguing with his killer, who then pulled out a handgun and fired shots as Wherry tried to run away.

Wherry, who lived blocks from where he was killed, was shot in the head and abdomen. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.

The most recent non-fatal shooting occurred in the Englewood neighborhood Saturday morning, injuring two men. The two men, ages 22 and 23, were in the 1700 block of West 64th Street when they were shot about 11:50 a.m., police said.

The 23-year-old man was shot in the chest and listed in serious condition; the 22-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and was listed in good condition. Both were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

Early Saturday on the West Side a 23-year-old man got into an argument about 2 a.m. with another male at an apartment party in the 3200 block of West Maypole Avenue, police said. The male shot the 23-year-old in the abdomen and buttocks. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition.

About 9:10 p.m. Friday in Englewood, a 35-year-old man was shot in abdomen and leg in the 1800 block of West 58th Street, police said. He was taken to Stroger in serious condition.

Also occurring in Englewood, about an hour earlier three men were shot in the 6900 block of Harvard Avenue, authorities said.

Police said a bullet grazed the face of a 25-year-old man; a 19-year-old who was with him was shot in the leg. Both were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The third man, 39, suffered a graze wound to the leg and taken to Stroger, police said.

The conditions of all three men had stabilized as of early Saturday, police said.

Friday evening on the Far North Side, a 15-year-old boy was shot in a Rogers Park alley near the 7400 block of North Hoyne, police said. The boy later told police he was standing in the alley when he heard gunfire and felt pain about 6:20 p.m.

The 15-year-old was taken in “stable” condition to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston with gunshot wounds to his lower back and leg, police said.

The weekend’s first shooting occurred Friday in West Garfield Park about 5:30 p.m., police said.

A 16-year-old girl was shot in the right knee and a 22-year-old man was shot in the right leg while sitting on a porch in the 3900 block of West Arthington Street, police said. Both were taken in “stable” condition to Stroger.

No one is in custody for any of the incidents as area detectives investigate.

Cory Atwater | Homicide Watch Chicago

4 dead, 12 wounded during weekend violence