Chicago police say shootings, murders down in September; update expected on 2018 Rogers Park murders

Jessica D'Onofrio Image
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
CPD says city crime at 4-year low
Chicago police have released crime numbers for the month of September showing gun violence across the city has remained at a four-year low through the end of the month.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police have released crime numbers for the month of September showing gun violence across the city has remained at a four-year low through the end of the month.

There were 208 shootings in the city, 256 shooting victims and 48 murders during September. That is down from 215 shootings, 257 shooting victims and 49 murders in September 2018.

Through the end of September, there have been 1,633 shootings, 2,011 shooting victims and 382 murders. Over the same time period last year, there were 1,836 shootings, 2,215 shooting victims and 429 murders.

Chicago police are inviting the media to a roundtable discussion at 11 a.m. then in the afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will hold a news conference at City Hall right after her weekly meeting with CPD about crime.

RELATED: Rogers Park killer still at large 1 year after murders

Superintendent Eddie Johnson will not be at the roundtable discussion as he is traveling to London to watch the Chicago Bears play the Oakland Raiders Sunday.

The police department is also expected to release an update Tuesday afternoon on the unsolved murders in Rogers Park from one year ago.

Douglass Watts, 73 and Eliyahu Moscowitz, 24, were shot to death less than two days apart. The gunman still has not been found.

There is a reward for information leading to the killer's arrest. Police say the suspect was caught on surveillance video.

"The fact that they haven't found him in a year, they have got no closer," said Randy Hassen, resident. "They have no clues, this guy could have slipped away into thin air."

Police say the suspect's unique walk is one of the few identifiable characteristics they have. The murders, and their randomness have deeply impacted the Rogers Park neighborhood. The hope is that police are making progress.