Police, alderman join West Town safety walk

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Flashlights will illuminate the streets of West Town Friday night as police and the area's alderman join residents who are fed up with a surge of violence for a safety walk.

Reports of crime and violence in West Town, ranging from stolen packages, car break-ins and car thefts to shootings and murders, have been rising throughout the summer.

Early Wednesday morning Aristeo Soriano, a hard-working father of four, was ruthlessly murdered, left to die on the sidewalk in the 1300-block of West Huron Street. Soriano was shot by an unknown gunman as he walked home from his job of 25 years at D'Amato's Bakery.

The next day, also in Noble Square, Jesus De La O-Jimenez was shot in a botched carjacking in the 1200-block of North Greenview.

"I heard people yelling and then maybe two seconds later I heard a single gunshot,"

Investigators are concerned his killer may be wanted in several other carjackings.

But the Chicagoans who call West Town home won't be bullied by criminals preying on innocent people.