WEEK IN REVIEW: Mass shooting at South Side party caps bloody holiday weekend, bringing week's toll to 14

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:00:08 -0600

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

The week started out with longest period of time without a fatal shooting in the city all year, but it ended with bloody holiday weekend that ended with at least 14 people dead from violence in Chicago.

The city saw a peaceful period from early Sunday morning until Thursday afternoon, a period of over 4 1/2 days without a fatal shooting. Then came the Christmas holiday, which was anything but peaceful, with at least 11 people killed and dozens of others shot.

When it was all over, 14 people were killed last week, bring the year's total to over 780, including about a dozen who died this year after being shot or assaulted in previous years, according to Sun-Times Wire record.

The horrific holiday weekend ended with a mass shooting in the East Chatham neighborhood that left two bothers dead and five other people wounded, two of them critically.

It happened Christmas night about 9:20 p.m., when people were gathered for a family party on the porch of a home in the 8600 block of South Maryland. Someone wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt walked out from an adjacent alley and opened fire, according to Chicago Police. The shooter then ran away.

James Gill, 18, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His older brother, 21-year-old Roy Gill III, was shot multiple times and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.

A 35-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was in critical condition, while a fourth male, whose age was not known, was shot in the body and was also in critical condition, police said. A 27-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman both suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and were stabilized. A 39-year-old man shot in the foot later showed up at a hospital and was listed in good condition, police said.

Another man was fatally on Christmas in the South Shore neighborhood, police said. About 4:28 p.m., police responded to a call of a person shot in the 2800 block of East 79th Street and found 25-year-old Jamil Farley with gunshot wounds to the back, leg and head, according to police and the medical examiner's office. He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A few hours earlier, a man was shot to death in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side. At 1:45 p.m., 22-year-old Jerry Thomas was in the 4400 block of West Chicago Avenue when a black truck drove by and someone inside fired shots, striking him multiple times, according to police and the medical examiner's office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Christmas morning, a man was fatally shot in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side. Officers responded to a call of a person shot about 9:50 a.m. and found the 24-year-old in the 1100 block of West 112th Place with multiple gunshot wounds, police said. David McClure, who lived on the same block, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, according to the medical examiner’s office.
A man was shot to death earlier Christmas morning in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. At 1:33 a.m., the 18-year-old was driving north in the 5300 block of South Francisco when shots rang out and he was struck in the neck and back, according to police. Fabian Ortega was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Christmas morning got off to violent start when a man was shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood. The 21-year-old was found at 12:49 a.m. lying on the ground in the backyard of a home in the 2600 block of East 76th Street, according to police. Niko L. Walker had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man was fatally shot Saturday night in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. At 8:54 p.m., the 30-year-old man was found unresponsive in a backyard in the 8900 block of South Hermitage, according to police. Nathaniel L. Edwards was shot on the left side and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, the medical examiner’s office said.
A man who had been shot Monday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood died five days later on Christmas Eve. Demetrius L. Newell, 28, was in the 1500 block of North Mayfield at 12:32 p.m. Monday when someone walked up and fired shots, striking him in the chest, according to authorities. The shooter ran away. Newell, who lived on the same block, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead Christmas Eve at 4:05 p.m.
A man who was shot to death earlier on Christmas Eve in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Just after midnight, officers responding to a shooting in the 3000 block of West 38th Place found the 27-year-old on the ground with gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen. Juan Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two men were shot to death in the Austin neighborhood late Friday on the West Side. At 10:50 p.m., 20-year-old Stephen Tucker and 21-year-old Derrick Jones walked outside after a phone conversation in a home in the 500 block of North Laramie, when at least one person opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
The older man was shot across the body and pronounced dead at the scene; the younger man died at Mount Sinai Hospital about an hour later of wounds to the head and back, authorities said. Both lived on the block where they were killed.
A 21-year-old man was killed and another wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in the South Shore neighborhood. Richard Chambers was standing on a sidewalk with a 20-year-old man in the 7900 block of South Exchange at 1:11 p.m. when a white SUV drove down the street and someone inside opened the rear door and started shooting, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
They were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where Chambers died of a head wound at 2:11 p.m., authorities said. The younger man was shot in the right foot and was listed in good condition.

The fatality was the first shooting death in more than four days, the longest stretch without a fatal shooting in Chicago this year. The previous fatal shooting happened at 12:52 a.m. Sunday in the Albany Park neighborhood.
A 58-year-old man was stabbed to death Monday night in the North Kenwood neighborhood on the South Side. Anthony Durham was stabbed in the chest at 7:37 p.m. during a domestic altercation in the 4300 block of South Ellis, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Durham, who lived in the same block, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said. Police initially said someone was taken into custody, but that person was later released without charges.

Fabian Ortega fatally shot while driving in Gage Park on Christmas morning

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 10:38:30 -0600

Fabian Ortega was shot to death early Christmas morning in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

At 1:33 a.m., the 18-year-old Ortega was driving north in the 5300 block of South Francisco when shots rang out and he was struck in the neck and back, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Ortega, of the 3500 block of West 83rd Place, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:16 a.m., police and the medical examiner’s office said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Fabian Ortega | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: Mass shooting at South Side party caps bloody holiday weekend, bringing week's toll to 14

Fabian Ortega fatally shot while driving in Gage Park on Christmas morning