Homicides In Chicago Have Doubled Over Same Time Period Last Year


Homicides in Chicago have reportedly doubled this year over the same time period last year, according to the Chicago Tribune.

It has been an exceptionally bloody year thus far in the Windy City. Four new homicides over the weekend, coupled with two more Monday morning, have pushed the homicide count far above the rate seen in 2015.

Since January 1, homicides in Chicago have amounted to 95 homicides compared to 47 last year, according to data kept by the Tribune.

Another statistic equally alarming is the number of people shot. So far in 2016, 420 shootings have been reported, compared to 193 last year.

This weekend was particularly deadly, with 32 confirmed shootings.

Among them, a 3-year-old boy was reportedly shot in the leg as he played with a relative on Saturday afternoon. The youngster was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

According to police, the boy apparently got caught in the crossfire of a gang fight. There have been no arrests in the shooting.

Earlier, a 29-year-old woman was shot in the head and a 36-year-old man was shot in the leg outside a Chicago nightclub. The woman is listed in critical condition, and the man is said to be stabilized.

A cabbie was found shot to death in a taxi, where police recovered three guns thought to be involved in the shooting. Again, there have been no arrests.

The deadly weekend toll includes “one person killed and nine wounded from Friday evening to Saturday morning; three men killed and 14 people wounded from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning; and six people wounded from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.”

The weekend’s first gunshot homicide occurred at 11:30 p.m. Friday, when 20-year-old Terrell Sykes was shot multiple times in the abdomen while standing on the sidewalk on the street where he lived.

On Saturday afternoon, 18-year-old Brian Johnson was shot in the head and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

As reported by NewsMax, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has taken mounting heat over the rising homicide rate in Chicago, most of it attributed to gang wars in the poorest sections of the city that have claimed the lives of innocent bystanders.

The Tribune’s John Kass wrote in January that police say Emanuel has gone “fetal” in reaction to a video showing a white police officer shooting unarmed black teen Laquan McDonald.

After being criticized for keeping the police dash-cam video from the public until after his re-election, the mayor has upped his support of aggressive policing that could save lives, Kass reported.

Alderman Roderick Sawyer, one of the leaders of the Black Caucus of the Chicago City Council, who happens to be black, said it all depends on the circumstances.

“The black officers I know will treat people with respect until they have to be aggressive, and then they’ll meet aggression with aggression. And the white police officers I know? They may feel a little differently, a little more concerned about their response to stops.”

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]

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