At least 8 killed, 30 wounded in Memorial Day weekend shootings across Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least eight people have been killed and 30 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday at midnight, police said.

Last year over the entire Memorial Day weekend, seven people were killed and 45 others were hurt. In 2016, eight were killed and 57 were wounded.

"It's probably been on par for what we've experienced in the last few years, a little up here and little down here," said Chicago Police Department Chief Fred Waller. "But I've been very impressed and very proud of the officers and their hard work."

The most recent fatality was a 30-year-old man who was shot in the head on Albany Avenue at approximately 9 p.m. Monday.

Among those wounded Monday was an 18-year-old man who was shot in Park Manor. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

A 15-year-old boy is among the wounded after being shot in his back and hips. Police said he was shot just after 11 p.m. Sunday night in the 1800-block of West Cullerton Street.

The boy was walking towards a car when a dark minivan pulled up and someone inside shouted a gang-related slogan before firing shots. No one is in custody.

Investigators said China Marie Lyons- Upshaw, was in her bedroom in the 800-block of East 49th Street when she was shot in the chest. She and another man were playing with a gun when it hit the ground and went off.

Sunday, that man turned himself in to police, accompanied by his mother and crisis responder Andrew Holmes.

"He was very emotional, crying on and off. He's very heartbroken about it, emotional, and he just didn't want to run away from it," Holmes said.

Meanwhile, a young mother was shot and killed over the weekend on her doorstep while she was celebrating her 2-year-old's birthday. Bobbieana Lyons, 20, was hit by stray bullets near 76th and Halsted streets.

And at around 1 a.m. Monday on the West Side, two men got into a fight inside a car near Flournoy Street and Laramie Avenue. They got out, then one man pulled out a gun shooting a 31-year-old man twice in the chest and once in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are trying to curb gun violence this holiday weekend with 1,300 extra officers on patrol and help from state and federal partners. But the statistics so far are hard painting a very violent picture.

CPD also announced Monday that a Summer Mobile Unit of 100 officers will take to the streets. The unit will be able to respond quickly to large disturbances.

"When you see a group of officers en masse like that, it's effective," Waller said.

The Summer Mobile Unit was deployed Monday and will be in service until Labor Day.

Also working to curb summer violence was the Safe Summer Cycling Tour in Grand Crossing held by community group Antonio's Response and lead by CPD's Third District.

"It's extremely important in the height of violence that we've been having now that the weather has changed," said Alderman Roderick Sawyer of the Sixth Ward. "We have to change the dynamic, change the paradigm and say that it's okay to come outside. It's more good people than there are bad people."

The tour's goal was to connect the community with organizations that offer safe and fun programs for youth on the South Side.

"We know that this is typically one of the most violent weekends of Chicago, so we know that we will not be safe by chance but by choice," said Antonio's Response co-chairperson Jose Wilson. "So it's very important for organizations and attentive by having activities."

The tour was also part of CPD's efforts to build better relationships within Chicago's communities.

"When we get out here and we talk to people and we formulate these relationships, then people will come to us and they'll give us information," said CPD Commander Gloria Hanna. "Where in the past, they may have not felt comfortable enough."

Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.