26 shot, 8 fatally, Tuesday in Chicago

Tuesday was the deadliest day in Chicago this year with eight people killed by gunfire, including four victims of a mass shooting in an Englewood home and a man found shot several times in a car on Lake Shore Drive along the Gold Coast.

Five other days have been close to that mark this year: Seven homicides on Jan. 7; seven on April 4; six on April 6; six on May 21; and five on June 11.

Tuesday’s homicides happened across the city, both in areas that have seen some of the worst gun violence this year and those that have seen some improvement. The victims were among 26 people hit by gunfire during the day.

The deadliest attack was in Englewood, which ranks number two in murders with 23 so far, just behind Austin which has recorded 26 and ahead of North Lawndale which has had 20, according to Sun-Times data.

Four people were killed and four others were seriously wounded when an argument apparently broke out inside a home in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street around 5:40 a.m., according to Chicago police.

It was the city’s third mass shooting in little more than a week. Two of the wounded remained in critical condition Wednesday as police reported no new developments. They wouldn’t say whether anyone was in custody.

Earlier in the morning, a man was found shot to death, and another seriously wounded, in a car that had crashed into a light pole on Lake Shore Drive in Gold Coast. The silver Nissan Sentra was in the northbound lanes when it crashed in the 1100 block of North Lake Shore Drive around 12:45 a.m., police said.

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Two of the three people inside had been shot. German Villalobos, 32, was struck twice in the torso and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A 20-year-old man was struck twice in the arm and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

The shooting happened in the Near North police district, which had recorded no other homicides before Tuesday.

In Gage Park, a 16-year-old boy was killed and a man was wounded as they walked in the 5200 block of South Artesian Avenue about 10:10 p.m., police said. Juan Chavez was struck multiple times and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man, 20, suffered three gunshot wounds to the back and was taken to the same hospital in critical condition. Police said the attacker was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Gage Park has seen only two homicides so far this year, according to Sun-Times data. It is located in the Deering Police District, which has seen a 7% drop in shootings this year although shootings have increased in the last two weeks, according to police statistics.

In Bronzeville, a woman was fatally shot about 6:15 a.m. The 21-year-old was found in an alley in the 4500 block of South Wabash with one gunshot wound to the head, police said. A witness told police they heard a gunshot and found the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The neighborhood has recorded at least 10 homicides this year, ranking it among the 15 deadliest neighborhoods in Chicago. Bronzeville saw only one homicide during the same time last year.

A few hours later, police officers found a 26-year-old man on the sidewalk in the 3800 block of West Flournoy Street with gunshot wounds to his head and abdomen, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was shot in the Harrison police district, traditionally one of the most violent in the city. Shootings have spiked in the district in the last week or two, according to police statistics. It covers three main neighborhoods: Humboldt Park, West Garfield Park and East Garfield Park.

Humboldt Park has had 10 homicides so far this year, West Garfield Park 13 and East Garfield Park 15, according to Sun-Times data.

Tuesday also recorded one of the highest number of people shot in a single day this year, 26.

Among the shootings was an attack that wounded five people in West Garfield Park. The group was outside in the 3800 block of West Monroe Street when they were shot, possibly by more than one gunman, about 9:20 p.m., according to police.

A 29-year-old woman was struck in the back, a 39-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and leg, and a 40-year-old man was struck in the shoulder. They were all taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where they are all in good condition. A 38-year-old man and a 33-year-old man were both shot in the legs and taken to Stroger Hospital, where the older man is in critical condition and the younger man is in good condition.

On Monday, three people were killed, and 18 others were wounded in shootings across the city.