2 dead, 9 wounded in Monday shootings across city
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CHICAGO (SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE) - Two men were killed and at least nine other people were wounded in shootings Monday across Chicago.
The most recent deaths were the latest of 378 people fatally shot in the city this year, according to data maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times. In all, more than 2,165 people have been shot since the start of the year.
In the city’s latest fatal shooting, 38-year-old Delano Jones was killed in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. He walked out of his home shortly after noon and got into his car in the 7200 block of South Artesian when an SUV pulled up next to him, and someone got out and fired at him, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Jones was shot three times and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting.
Nearly 12 hours earlier, 21-year-old Ramon Flores was gunned down in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side. He was standing near a porch about 12:20 a.m. in the 2400 block of North Meade when another male fired shots from across the street, authorities said. Flores, who lived in the neighborhood, suffered a gunshot wound to the right arm, which penetrated his chest. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead at 12:57 a.m.
In the day’s latest nonfatal incident, a 20-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder walked into Trinity Hospital about 11:05 p.m. and told investigators the shooting happened on the Dan Ryan Expressway, according to Illinois State Police. His condition was stabilized. The man told investigators he was shot while he was a passenger in a vehicle traveling in the outbound lanes of I-94 near 87th Street, but no shell casings were located in the area.
About 20 minutes earlier, a woman was wounded in a South Shore neighborhood shooting. The 27-year-old was exiting a vehicle about 10:45 p.m. in the 6700 block of South East End when two males walked up and opened fire, striking her in the left leg, police said. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.
About an hour earlier, two men were wounded in a Little Village neighborhood drive-by shooting on the Southwest Side. The men, ages 20 and 21, were walking east about 9:40 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Cermak when a shooter opened fire from a passing blue SUV, police said. The older man was struck in the back and right leg, and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition. The younger man was grazed in the chest and also taken to Mount Sinai, where his condition was stabilized.
About 8:15 p.m., a 48-year-old was walking down the street about 8:15 p.m. when he heard shots and felt pain in the 6700 block of South Green in the South Side Englewood neighborhood, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the lower, right back, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Earlier Monday evening, two men were critically wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. The men, ages 26 and 28, were sitting on the porch in front of a house about 5:08 p.m. in the 8300 block of South Justine when a white van pulled up and someone inside fired shots, police said. The older man was shot in the chest, and the younger man was shot in the neck. They were both taken to Christ Medical Center in critical condition.
About 8:20 a.m., two males wearing red bandanas approached a 38-year-old man in the alley in the 1200 block of South Kedvale in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the Southwest Side and one of the males shot him in the right arm, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition. The suspects ran south after the shooting.
A 20-year-old man was wounded about four hours earlier in a Cragin neighborhood shooting on the Northwest Side. He was walking through the gangway of a home about 4:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of North Laporte when a male walked up, pulled out a gun and fired in his direction before running away, police said. The man suffered a graze wound the back, but refused medical attention.
On Monday, the Chicago Police Department released monthly crime statistics for July that showed shootings have decreased by over 13 percent citywide in 2017 compared to the same time last year. In addition, July marked the fifth straight month with a decline in shootings, police said.
The month ended with the city on pace to exceed the number of killings in 2016. As of Monday night, the citywide homicide total was 409, with 74 people killed in July. In 2016, the city did not reach 400 homicides until Aug. 1, according to Sun-Times data.