WEEK IN REVIEW: 10 more killed as January 2017 shows no break in the rampant gun violence that marred 2016

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 11:34:24 -0600

By JORDAN OWEN and JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Another 10 people died from violence last week in Chicago as Chicago Police Department efforts to curtail violence--after a year in which homicides reached levels not seen in decades--seem to be falling short so far.

One month into the new year, the numbers of shootings and homicides in the city are nearly identical to the first month of 2016.

As of Jan. 31, Chicago had recorded 53 homicides in 2017 — two more than in January 2016, according to a Chicago Sun-Times list compiled using Cook County medical examiner’s and other public records.

The number of shooting victims also remained nearly identical. A total of 292 people were shot last January in 242 incidents. So far this year, just over 300 people have been shot in about 240 incidents.

Both 2016 and 2017 showed a marked increase in violence from January 2015, when there were 29 homicides in Chicago.

Police and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration are implementing several anti-violence initiatives this year, including hiring additional officers, funding economic-growth programs, and providing support and mentorship for young men in violent neighborhoods.

By the end of the year, the department plans to add nearly 1,000 more officers. Additionally, patrol officers from all 22 districts will be wearing body cameras by year’s end; and more than 2,400 officers have been trained in crisis intervention.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson is also working with state legislators on legislation to increase sentencing for repeat gun offenders.

The effectiveness of those efforts remains uncertain as the killing continued last week in neighborhoods across the city.

Last week's final homicide was a man fatally shot Sunday night in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Jesse C. Montes de Oca, 31, was standing in a backyard about 11 p.m. in the 3500 block of West 38th Place when someone in a silver SUV fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 25-year-old man was shot to death early Saturday in the Goose Island neighborhood on the Near West Side. About 1:40 a.m., Kentrell Thompson was sitting in a vehicle at a gas station in the 1200 block of North Halsted when someone fired several shots at the vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man died after he was shot Friday night in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side. Officers responded about 7:45 p.m. to a call of shots fired in the 400 block of West 129th Place and found 34-year-old Jeffery Demetrius Brown with gunshot wounds to the head and thigh, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Brown, who lived on the same block, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.
A 17-year-old boy was shot to death Thursday evening in the South Side Englewood neighborhood. About 7 p.m., Husain Parr was walking in the 7000 block of South Princeton when someone in a dark-colored SUV opened fire, hitting him in the chest and both legs, police and the medical examiner's office said. The boy was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy Friday found that a west suburban man found dead Thursday afternoon in an alley in Englewood had been shot to death. Officers were called about 12:45 p.m. to a report of a person down in an alley in the 6300 block of South Parnell, police said. Garcel S. Woods, 30, of Westchester, was found dead, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Friday found he died from multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.
A 21-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday night on the Far South Side. David Carroll Jr. suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his body about 7:45 p.m. in the 9700 block of South Woodlawn, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Carroll, who lived in the same block, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man was found shot to death Monday night on the Near West Side. Officers responded to a call of a person shot about 11:30 p.m. and found 20-year-old Jomontae J. Freeman in the back seat of a silver car in the 1600 block of West Monroe, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Freeman had gunshot wounds to the head and body, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 20-year-old man was shot to death Monday afternoon in the West Elsdon neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Officers responding to a shooting about 4:30 p.m. found Giovanni Lopez on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the lower body near 51st and Ridgeway, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man died Monday afternoon, three days after he was shot in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. Cyrus Jaquan Williams, 19, was shot in the head about 5:40 p.m. Jan. 20 in the 600 block of South Sacramento, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Williams was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. Monday, authorities said. An autopsy Wednesday ruled his death a homicide.
A northern Indiana woman was shot to death early Monday outside an Austin neighborhood elementary school on the West Side. Officers responded at 1:54 a.m. to a call of a person shot and found 20-year-old Jamaya Fields lying on the sidewalk in the 5000 block of West Maypole, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Fields had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. She lived in South Bend, Indiana. Her body was found near the playlot for Spencer Elementary Technology Academy.

25-yar-old Kentrell 'NuNu' Thompson shot to death outside gas station in Goose Island

Jeff Mayes — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 10:31:19 -0600

Kentrell Thompson was shot to death early Saturday while sitting in a vehicle at a gas station in the Goose Island neighborhood on the Near West Side.

Police investigate a fatal shooting early Saturday in Goose Island. | NVP News

About 1:40 a.m., the 25-year-old Thompson was sitting in his vehicle at a station in the 1200 block of North Halsted, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

He suffered a gunshot wound to the head when someone fired several shots at the vehicle, according to police.

Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The father of two was a Humboldt Park resident known to friends as "NuNu."

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Kentrell Thompson | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: 10 more killed as January 2017 shows no break in the rampant gun violence that marred 2016

25-yar-old Kentrell 'NuNu' Thompson shot to death outside gas station in Goose Island