6 dead, 37 wounded in Chicago weekend shootings
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Six men were killed and at least 37 other people were wounded in shootings across Chicago between Friday evening and Monday morning.
With temperatures pushing into the 90s, 30 people were shot in less than 9 hours from Saturday evening to Sunday morning. The weekend was more deadly than last weekend, when 30 people were shot, five of them fatally.
Nine people were wounded in a mass shooting about 3:15 a.m. Sunday in the Lawndale neighborhood on the Southwest Side, according to Chicago Police. They were gathered in the 3300 block of West Douglas when a black vehicle approached and people inside fired shots.
A 17-year-old boy was shot in the buttocks; another 17-year-old boy was shot in the hand; a 22-year-old man was shot in the ankle; a 23-year-old man was shot in the back; a 29-year-old man was shot in the hip; a 30-year-old man was shot in the lower leg; a 33-year-old woman was shot in the leg; and a 35-year-old man was shot in the leg, police said. All eight victims were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized.
A ninth victim, a 26-year-old man, was shot in the leg and taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
A police source said several of the victims are documented gang members and the shooting appears to be gang-related.
The weekend’s latest fatal shooting happened about 5:10 p.m. Sunday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. A 24-year-old man was walking in the 4700 block of South Winchester when a green-colored vehicle pulled up to him, and someone got out and shot him in the abdomen and right leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not provided information on the death.
At 5:07 a.m., another fatal shooting happened in Lawndale, less than a mile from the mass shooting. Someone in a white vehicle opened fire in the 1400 block of South Avers, striking 24-year-old Dontae Thomas in the abdomen. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 7:05 a.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the same neighborhood as the attack.
One man was killed in another Back of the Yards neighborhood shooting that left two others wounded at 3:13 a.m. Sunday. Ivan Gutierrez, 19, was standing on the sidewalk with two other men, ages 22 and 23, in the 5300 block of South Seeley when someone in a vehicle fired shots, striking them all. Gutierrez, who lived in the same neighborhood, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:17 a.m., authorities said. The 22-year-old was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, and the oldest man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Less than two hours earlier, 29-year-old Fredrick Vasquez was killed in a Humboldt Park neighborhood shooting on the West Side. He was standing on the sidewalk at 1:28 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of North Monticello when someone in a gray vehicle opened fire, striking him in the chest. Vasquez was taken to Norwegian American Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m., authorities said. He lived in the Logan Square neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
The weekend’s other two fatal shootings occurred on Friday.
About 6:45 p.m. that evening, 21-year-old Louis Chamness was killed in a Belmont Central neighborhood shooting on the Northwest Side. He was driving in the 5700 block of West Belden when people in a dark-colored car shot him in the chest. Chamness’ car then slammed into a parked car and flipped onto its side. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died at 7:28 p.m., authorities said. Chamness lived in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood.
Late Friday afternoon, a Naperville man was gunned down in the West Side Austin neighborhood. Romaine Elkins, 18, was standing outside about 5:15 p.m. in the 1500 block of North Linder when people in a dark-colored SUV opened fire in his direction and he was shot in the chest, authorities said. After the shooting, the SUV sped west on Le Moyne and crashed into another vehicle. Elkins was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where he died at 5:52 p.m. A 71-year-old woman in the other vehicle suffered injuries in the crash, but was listed in good condition.
Two 16-year-old boys were critically wounded in a shooting about 7 p.m. Sunday near 31st Street Beach on the South Side. They were in fight with someone in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive, when the suspect took out a gun and shot one of the boys in the neck and the other in the legs. Both boys were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where they were listed in critical condition.
In the Loop, two men were wounded in a shooting shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday on the Chicago Riverwalk. The men, ages 28 and 30, were involved in an argument on the riverwalk near Wacker and Dearborn when shots rang out, police said. The younger man was shot in the right leg, while the older man suffered a gunshot wound to the left foot.
They were both taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized. Witnesses at the busy intersection said they heard at least three gunshots. Chicago Police could be seen investigating along the Riverwalk, underneath the Dearborn Street Bridge.
At least 22 more people were wounded in shooting across the city between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.
The weekend’s violence almost matched last year’s totals over the same weekend, when 7 people were killed and at least 35 others were wounded in shootings between June 10 and June 13, 2016.