WEEK IN REVIEW: 16 people killed in Chicago violence, including 11 over holiday weekend

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 18:45:48 -0500

By JARED LANDSMAN and TRISTAN SIMS
Homicide Watch Chicago

Sixteen people were killed throughout Chicago last week, 11 of them over a violent Independence Day weekend,when the victims included a 7-year-old boy hot while watching fireworks in Humboldt Park on Saturday.

Seven-year-old Amari Brown, who lived in the 500 block of North Drake, and a 26-year-old woman were not the intended targets when they were shot while standing in the 1100 block of North Harding just before midnight.

Police said Sunday the bullet that fatally wounded the boy on the Fourth of July was meant for his father. Both Amari and the woman were shot in the chest at 11:55 p.m., police said.

The child's father, Antonio Brown, a ranking gang member who has been arrested 45 times on charges ranging from burglary to gun possession, was not cooperating with police as they tried to find his son’s killer, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Sunday.

The woman was was also taken to Stroger, where her condition stabilized.

The latest killing was Sunday afternoon involving a 48-year-old man who was shot in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Anthony Strong was shot in the right side of his chest about 4:55 p.m. in the 9200 block of South Harper, police said.

Strong, who lived in the same block he was shot, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 6:06 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Police said they were questioning a person of interest.

Earlier, two brothers from Missouri died Sunday morning after shots were fired at an SUV in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side.

John Hunter, 25, and his brother Willie Hunter, 31, were sitting inside an SUV about 6:10 a.m. in the 8800 block of South Bishop, when another male walked up and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

The SUV—driven by the younger brother—sped away, but then crashed into a building in the 1600 block of West 89th, authorities said.

John Hunter, of the 300 block of East Ashley Street in Jefferson City, Missouri, was shot multiple times. He was taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7 a.m., authorities said.

Willie Hunter, of the 1200 block of East High Street in Jefferson City, was discovered unresponsive in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. An autopsy Monday revealed he also died from gunshot wounds.

At about 5 a.m. that morning, a man was hit and killed by a minivan during an argument in North Lawndale.

27-year-old John Perry and a 23-year-old woman were involved in a verbal and physical altercation in the 1100 block of South Francisco, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

At some point, the woman got into a minivan, drove onto the sidewalk and struck the man with the vehicle before speeding off, police said.

Perry, who lives on the 400 block of West 65th Place, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An autopsy Monday found that he died of mechanical asphyxia from being hit and pinned under the vehicle, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled a homicide.

Chicago Police continue to investigate. It was not clear if anyone was in custody as of Monday afternoon.

Earlier Sunday, a man was killed in a shooting that left two others wounded in the Northwest Side Albany Park neighborhood.

Jeremy Spivey, 23, and the two others were sitting inside a van in an alley near Sunnyside and Kimball about 2:30 a.m. when a male walked up and fired shots, authorities said.

Spivey, of the 4700 block of West Belmont, was shot multiple times and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m., authorities said.

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the right leg and taken to Masonic, where his condition was stabilized. A 26-year-old woman was shot in the right finger and was being treated at Swedish Covenant Hospital, police said.

Relatives of the 17-year-old, who live near the shooting, said they spent the day barbecuing and watching fireworks for the Fourth of July. A female relative said she had heard gunshots around their home between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., then again at 10 p.m.

She took her family inside just five minutes before the shooting. She and her children said they heard about seven gunshots but didn’t think anything of it until they heard ambulances pull up.

About an hour and a half earlier, a 26-year-old man was shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood.

Dominic Fairley Jr. was sitting in his car in the 7700 block of South South Shore Drive about 1 a.m. when someone walked up and fired shots into the car, authorities said.

He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:19 a.m. He lived in the 8500 block of South Hermitage, authorities said. Police said the shooting is possibly gang-related.

17-year-old Vonzell Banks was gunned down on Friday near the recently renamed Hadiya Peddleton park, names for the King College Prep student who was slain in 2013.

Banks was shot in the back, like Peddleton. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:31 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Earlier Friday, a man was killed and a woman wounded in a South Side Washington Heights neighborhood drive-by shooting on the South Side.

The two were walking in the alley in the 9100 block of South Ashland about 1:20 a.m. when someone in a passing white van opened fire, police said.

Grover Tate, 47, of the 1500 block of West 95th Street, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The woman, 43, was shot in the abdomen and buttocks, and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where her condition had stabilized, police said.

A 26-year-old man was killed in the same block he lived in just after midnight Friday in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.

The man, identified as Jose Hernandez, was sitting on a porch at 12:05 a.m. in the 4800 block of South Justine when another male walked up and shot him in the back, authorities said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An officer at the scene said the shooting—the second on that block in about nine hours—may have stemmed from a conflict involving the La Raza street gang. Neighbors said they heard about four to six gunshots.

“We were all in the kitchen you know, having bonding, family time, and this happens,” said 15-year-old Jocelyn Avila, who lives on the block and also heard gunshots from the other shooting at 3 p.m. Thursday.

The first homicide of the weekend happened Thursday evening in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

At about 6:25 p.m., Joseph Gutierrez was riding a bicycle in the 2700 block of South Karlov when a gunman ran up and shot him repeatedly in the upper body, authorities said.

Gutierrez, of the 6200 block of South Kenneth, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said. Police said the shooting may have been gang-related.

Earlier in the week, Moses Van Pelt, 22, was shot in the Riverdale neighborhood on the Far South Side.

The shooting happened in the 13200 block of South Greenwood at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Pelt, of the 0-100 block of Olympic Village in Chicago Heights, was sitting in a parked vehicle when a gray SUV pulled up with several people inside and at least one opened fire, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 7:30 p.m., authorities said.

On Wednesday evening, a Humboldt Park man was shot and killed in a double shooting in North Lawndale, police said.

50-year-old Edgar Colon,of the 700 block of North Kedzie, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead, authorities said.

At about 9:50 p.m., Colon and another man, 38, were standing on a sidewalk in the 3600 block of West 16th Street when two gunmen walked up and opened fire, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other man took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the right leg, where his condition stabilized, police said.

Another killing was a domestic dispute involving a couple on Wednesday.

The victim, Vanessa Taylor, was found strangled in her West Garfield Park apartment after her alleged boyfriend posted on Facebook that he had killed her, police sources said.

Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene when officers were performing a well-being check in Taylor’s apartment in the 4300 block of West Flournoy Avenue, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Wednesday found she died of asphyxiation and ligature strangulation, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Late Tuesday evening, Avery Williams was shot to death in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side.

About 10:45 p.m., the 22-year-old Williams was driving in the 11100 block of South Hamlet when a black SUV pulled alongside and a gunman inside shot him the abdomen, according to police and the medical examiner office.

Williams died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. He lived in the 10400 block of South Church.

Angelica Escamilla was stabbed at about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 2100 block of West Windsor, according to police.

A man armed with a knife attacked her, police said. Two other men, ages 19 and 21, were stabbed during the fight, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police said Escamilla and two other men attacked a third man, who stabbed her in self-defense. The other two men are charged with the murder.

Escamilla, of the 4200 block of North Lincoln, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

The two men were each taken to hospitals. The 21-year-old was in fair condition, and the 19-year-old suffered non-life-threatening lacerations to his face, authorities said.

Earlier on Monday, Adrian Campos was stabbed to death in Logan Square after 3 a.m.

The 26-year-old Campos was stabbed in the chest during an argument with another man in the 1900 block of North Rockwell, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Campos, who lived on the same block where he was stabbed, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:11 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

A suspect is in custody, police said.

Jose Hernandez killed in second shooting within hours on same Back of the Yards block

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:35:14 -0500

By REEMA AMIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Jose Hernandez was killed in the same block he lived just after midnight Friday in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.

The 26-year-old Hernandez was sitting on a porch at 12:05 a.m. in the 4800 block of South Justine when another man walked up and shot him in the back, police and the medical examiner’s office said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he later died, police said.

An officer at the scene said the shooting—the second on that block in about nine hours—may have stemmed from a conflict involving the La Raza street gang.

Jocelyn Avila, 15, said she and her family had returned home 10 minutes before the shooting. She said relatives are in town for her upcoming Quinceañera, a 15th birthday party celebrated for girls in the Latino community.

“We were all in the kitchen you know, having bonding, family time, and this happens,” said Avila, who heard between four and six gunshots.

She and her cousin from Georgia, 14-year-old Aristeo Brito, had also heard the gunshots from the shooting at 3 p.m. Thursday, which they said happened across the street from Avila’s home. Police said a 31-year-old man was wounded.

“It was five rounds, like continuously,” Brito said of the earlier shooting, who said he’d never heard anything like it.

Jose Perez, 30, lives right where the first shooting happened but was at work at the time. Relatives told him the victim, who they didn’t know, ran into his house after getting shot to get help.

Avila said the shootings have gotten worse on her block in the past year. She wants more cops to patrol her neighborhood but said she thinks it gets ignored “because it’s on the South Side.”

“When there’s little kids hanging out…especially because the (water) pump is right there and they open the pump during the summer,” she said. “Imagine a shooting.”

Jose Hernandez | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: 16 people killed in Chicago violence, including 11 over holiday weekend

Jose Hernandez killed in second shooting within hours on same Back of the Yards block