4 killed, 43 wounded in weekend gun violence
For the second straight weekend, gun violence in Chicago was marked by a mass shooting on the South Side, about 2½ miles from each other.
And while the total number of shootings was down this past weekend, people were shot in nearly every police district, according to a Sun-Times analysis.
In all, four people were killed and 43 others were wounded across the city, down from the five killed and 53 wounded the weekend before. Shootings were reported in 17 of the city’s 22 police districts.
The only ones spared were those on the North and Northwest sides, which have generally low rates of violence, and the Chicago Lawn District near Midway Airport on the Southwest Side that has seen its numbers steadily decrease this year.
The latest mass shooting occurred early Saturday along a busy thoroughfare in the Gresham Police District where nine people were shot and a mother of three was killed.
That’s the same district where eight people were wounded when gunmen opened fire from a silver car in Burnside the weekend before, according to Chicago police.
Shootings in the district are up nearly 60% from this time last year, according to Chicago police statistics.
Man killed while driving in Englewood
Early Monday, a man was shot and killed while driving in Englewood on the South Side. The man, 42, was shot around 4:20 a.m. and crashed into a fence at Periwinkle Park in the 6500 block of South Perry Avenue, police said.
The man, shot five times, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released. Before he died, the man said a woman he knew had shot him, police said. No one was in custody.
Killed in South Loop
A 22-year-old man was fatally shot Saturday afternoon in the South Loop.
About 1:20 p.m., the man was parked on the street in the 600 block of South Wells Street when someone in a passing vehicle fired shots, police said.
He was struck multiple times and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The medical examiner’s office identified him as Dearl Butler Jr.
‘Prime of her life’
Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, two gunmen approached a group standing on the sidewalk in the 7500 block of South Prairie Avenue and opened fire, Chicago police said.
Kimfier Miles was shot in her leg and abdomen and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
“She was only 29; in the prime of her life,” Miles’ cousin Takita Miles said.
Nine more victims, ranging in age from 23 to 49, were taken to hospitals all in fair or good condition, according to police. There is no one in custody.
Woman shot dead in Brighton Park
A 20-year-old woman was killed in a shooting Friday night in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side.
Fhee Hernandez-Castillo was sitting in a vehicle with her boyfriend about 8:50 p.m. when a gunman approached them while yelling gang slogans in the 4700 block of South Rockwell Street, Chicago police and the medical examiner’s office said.
Hernandez-Castillo was sitting in the passenger seat when she was struck in the neck and hand, police said.
After the shooting, her boyfriend drove off and pulled over at a Shell gas station, where Chicago Fire Department paramedics arrived.
Hernandez-Castillo was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and later pronounced dead, police said.
Girl, 16, wounded in Lawndale
A 16-year-old girl was listed in critical condition after a shooting Sunday night in Lawndale that also left a 46-year-old man seriously wounded.
The man and the teen were outside in the 3900 block of West 13th Street when they were shot about 11:20 p.m., police said. The teen suffered three gunshot wounds and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, police said. The man was struck in the buttocks and lower back and taken to the same hospital in serious condition, police said. Witnesses told officers they saw a male fleeing the scene, according to police.