Quiet Chicago neighborhood rattled after four fatal shootings this year
CHICAGO - A normally quiet Far North Side neighborhood has been rattled this year.
"I'm really angry. I'm really angry that these crimes are happening in our ward," said Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th Ward).
There have been four fatal shootings this year in the West Ridge neighborhood — that's compared to only one last year.
On July 5, 15-year-old Anthony Mendoza was shot and killed in Warren Park.
Last Friday, 13-year-old Lavell Winslow was fatally shot in Lerner Park.
On Monday, 66-year-old Salim Khamo was killed while working inside his store.
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And then, Tuesday, a 20-year-old was shot to death sitting in a car in the 2500 block of West Estes Avenue.
Ald. Debra Silverstein says she plans to advocate for more police resources at city hall this week.
"This is normally a quiet neighborhood, and we're, we're going to get back to being quiet," said Silverstein.
West Ridge Elementary is hurting with two students dying this school year due to guns.
Halle Quezada and her group, West Ridge Community Response Team, is giving students at West Ridge Elementary comfort gifts this week.
They also provide youth programs and food pantries.
Quezada has been working with teens all summer, asking them what do they want in the area to help keep them out of trouble.
They've asked for things like bicycles and a community garden.