87 shot, 17 fatally, in Chicago July 4th weekend violence, police say
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Despite an additional 1,200 officers on the streets and pleas from community groups, Chicago's July 4th holiday marked the third straight weekend that a child has fallen victim to gun violence in the city.
From Thursday at 6 p.m. through Sunday night, 87 people were shot in Chicago. Seventeen of the victims have died, including 7-year-old Natalia Wallace who was fatally shot in Austin Saturday night.
RELATED: 1 charged with murder in shooting death of girl, 7, on West Side
At a press conference Monday morning, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown expressed condolences to the families of the shooting victims and called for changes to stop the violence.
"We must keep violent offenders in jail longer. We must," Superintendent David Brown said. "We should revamp the electronic monitoring program. The electronic monitoring program, it's clearly not working. We will not stop until this violence ends."
At a press conference Monday afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot reiterated Superintendent Brown's call to lock up violent criminals.
"Thoughts and prayers are simply not enough at this point," Mayor Lightfoot said. "Sorrow itself is not enough and what it says is we need to do better as a city, this day, this year and really every day. There is no reason we should be feeling and experiencing moments like this."
The mayor was clearly frustrated, and said there needs to be renewed focus on stopping the flow of illegal guns and the pipeline from Indiana. Police took 173 more guns off the streets this weekend, on top of hundreds more the past two weekends.
"What will it take as Americans for us to wake up and recognize that we have to have common sense gun control, period," she wondered.
There were 47 different shooting incidents across Chicago, mostly on the city's South and West sides.
Supt. Brown called for the electronic monitoring system to be revamped, and the mayor suggested more needs to be done to keep violent offenders locked up
"We need to think about those people who have a history of violence and are found to be in possession of firearms, and creating other acts of violence," she said. "There has got to be consequences for them."
RELATED: Intervention, investment key to stopping Chicago violence at the source
Lightfoot also said more has to be done to provide an alternative to a life of crime.
Brown said police need the community's help to find the shooters.
"It's this constant gang-on-gang violence where they're targeting an individual. There is usually zero cooperation between these gangs because they just wanna go back and exact their revenge the next time around, which what caused the death of these two children," said Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan."I know that there's people out there that may know these individuals who are part of these gangs. That information has to be funneled to the detectives. It's the only way these cases are gonna progress."
Lightfoot also addressed yet another tweet from President Trump offering to help with the violence. She said if the president really wanted to help he could support universal background checks and the banning of assault rifles, along with common sense gun control.
GIRL, 7, KILLED IN AUSTIN SHOOTING
The 7-year-old girl was visiting her grandmother's home for a family gathering when she was shot and killed.
Police said she was playing outside when a white vehicle pulled up and three suspects got out, firing more than 20 shots.
The 7-year-old was transported to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"To see my daughter on the table with a gunshot wound to the forehead, that will change somebody's life," said Natalia's father Nathan Wallace during a press conference Sunday.
Wallace said Natalia liked drawing.
"She did things most kids would do," he said.
Chicago police said Sunday night that a person of interest in the shooting is in custody. Charges are expected Monday.
"It is sad you hear this on the news every day that a child getting killed, somebody getting killed, but you don't think about it until it's your own," Wallace said.
CPD said they were putting more officers on the streets for the holiday weekend but Wallace's family is wondering why they didn't see them on their corner.
As the Wallace family shares their story, they're wondering how many people are listening, and whether their voices even make a difference.
"Something has to give in Chicago, and I pray that Lori Lightfoot and chief of police put something together to stop this," Nathan Wallace said. "At the end of the day, our future is getting hurt."
Meanwhile, there have been no arrests in the shooting death of Varnado Jones.
The 14-year-old boy was killed Saturday night in Englewood. He was among eight people shot in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street when four males walked up and started shooting, according to Chicago police.
Varnado Jones was hit in the back and pronounced dead at Comer Children's Hospital, police said.
Three other male victims were pronounced dead, two at the scene and one at the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. Their ages were not immediately known.
The Cook County medical examiner's office has not released details about the fatalities.
An 11-year-old boy with a graze wound to the ankle and a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the abdomen were both taken to Comer in fair condition, police said.
A 35-year-old man shot in the hip, leg, arm and wrist was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and transferred to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said. A 29-year-old man shot in the foot was taken to St. Bernard Hospital in fair condition.
The suspects fled after the shooting and no one is in custody as Area One detectives investigate.
Varnado's family is planning a peaceful protest at the site where he was killed Tuesday.
CHICAGO WEEKEND SHOOTINGS
Monday morning
The latest fatal attack left a 39-year-old man dead in Lawndale on the West Side.
He was found unresponsive about 2:27 a.m. in the 900 block of South Independence Boulevard, police said. He had a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Cook County medical examiner's office hasn't released details about his death.
Sunday
A 26-year-old man was shot dead on the Near North Side.
He was shot about 12:45 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Kingsbury Street, police said. He was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died.
Early Sunday, a man was shot to death in Gresham on the South Side.
The 21-year-old was standing on the sidewalk about 2:15 a.m. in the 8600 block of South Vincennes Avenue when he was shot in the head, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
About an hour before that, a woman was killed and five men were injured when someone fired into a crowd that was setting off fireworks in Lawndale on the West Side.
The group was lighting fireworks on the sidewalk at 1:14 a.m. in the 1500 block of South Millard Avenue when a white vehicle approached and someone inside started shooting, according to police. A 20-year-old woman was hit in the head and abdomen and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the left shoulder and knee, a 27-year-old man was hit in the abdomen and a 28-year-old man was shot in the left shoulder and leg, police said. All three were taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.
A 44-year-old man shot twice in the hip and a 30-year-old man shot in the right leg were both taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.
Less than an hour earlier, a man was killed and another was injured in Riverdale on the Far South Side.
They were in a parking lot when they got into an argument with the male suspect about 12:35 a.m. in the 1000 block of East 132nd Street, according to police. The suspect left the parking lot and walked to a home before firing at the men through the door.
David Scott, 24, was hit in the left side of his torso and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, officials said. The other man, 20, was shot in the leg and taken to Christ Medical Center in fair condition.
Saturday
A man was killed and three others were injured late Saturday night in South Chicago.
They were standing on the sidewalk at 11:09 p.m. in the 8300 block of South Kingston Avenue when they heard gunshots and realized they were hit, according to police.
Cartrell Tate, 39, was hit in the head and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
A 26-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and went to South Shore Hospital on his own in fair condition, according to police. Another man, 60, was hit in the right leg and went to the same hospital in good condition. A fourth man, 19, was shot in the leg and went to the University of Chicago Medical Center on his own in good condition.
Another man was killed and two people were hurt in a shooting earlier that evening in South Shore.
They were standing on the sidewalk about 9:43 p.m. in the 2700 block of East 75th Street when someone in a blue SUV fired shots, police said. Tyrone Long, 33, was shot several times in the chest, authorities said. A friend drove him to Jackson Park Hospital, where he died.
Another man, 44, was hit in the thigh and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition, police said. A 27-year-old woman was grazed on the ankle and declined medical treatment.
Saturday morning, a 30-year-old man was gunned down in Englewood on the South Side.
About 7:15 a.m., Michael P. Means was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked vehicle in the 6400 block of South Hoyne Avenue, when someone inside a dark-colored SUV began firing shots in his direction, authorities said. Means, who lived in Roseland, was struck in the chest, neck, right arm and rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
A couple hours before that, a shooting left a woman dead and two men injured near 31st Street Beach on the South Side.
They were walking about 5:20 a.m. in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive when a group of about six males approached, authorities said. Three or four members of the group distracted 34-year-old Quentella Smith while two other suspects pulled out guns and started shooting at her and the two men she was with. Smith was hit in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
A 26-year-old man was shot in the right leg, thigh and torso, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, but his condition was not immediately known. The other man, 32, was grazed on his left leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition.
Hours earlier, one man was killed and another was critically hurt in Englewood on the South Side.
A 20-year-old man was in a business about 1:55 a.m. in the 6600 block of South Halsted Street when someone fired multiple gunshots, according to police. He was hit several times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died a short time later.
The other man, 49, was in a vehicle nearby when he was hit in the left thigh, police said. He was taken to the same hospital in critical condition.
Minors wounded
A 15-year-old boy shot Sunday evening was the latest minor to be injured by gun violence in Chicago.
He was walking about 10:45 p.m. in the 2900 block of South Federal Street when two males approached him, police said. One of them fired shots before they both fled. The boy was hit in the hand and taken to Comer Children's Hospital in fair condition.
Hours earlier, a 16-year-old boy was shot Little Village.
He was outside about 6 p.m. in the 3100 block of South Karlov Avenue when someone in a gray vehicle pulled up and opened fire, police said. The boy was shot in the shoulder and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
A 16-year-old girl was among a group of people who were shot Sunday in Fifth City on the West Side.
About 2:30 p.m., she was standing in an alley in the 3700 block of West Jackson Boulevard with three other people when they heard shots, Chicago police said.
The girl was struck in the side and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. A 19-year-old man was struck in the thigh and taken to the same hospital in good condition.
A 55-year-old man and a 35-year-old man were each struck in the buttocks, police said. The older man was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in good condition and the younger man refused treatment.
A man and a teenage boy were injured in a shooting early Sunday in University Village.
The 17-year-old boy and 19-year-old man were sitting on a porch with a group of people at 1:37 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Hastings Street when someone fired shots from a gray or silver vehicle, according to police. The 17-year-old was shot in the hand while the 19-year-old was hit in the arm. Someone drove them both to Stroger Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition.
Less than an hour before that, a 17-year-old girl was wounded on the Near West Side.
She was riding in a vehicle about 1 a.m. in the 2600 block of West 15th Street when two males fired shots, according to police. She was hit in the left shoulder and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.
About two minutes earlier, a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old woman were shot in West Rogers Park on the North Side.
They were standing in the hallway of an apartment building at 12:58 a.m. in the 7400 block of North Artesian Avenue when a male fired shots through a door, according to police. The child was grazed on her right hand and taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition. The woman was shot in both legs and taken to the same hospital in serious condition.
On Saturday night, a 15-year-old boy was one of three people injured in a Little Village drive-by.
Someone in a passing vehicle opened fire at two men about 10:25 p.m. as they stood in an alley in the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue, police said. One man, 23, was struck in the shoulder and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition. A 27-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to the same hospital in fair condition.
The 15-year-old boy was in an alley in the 3000 block of South Tripp Avenue and was hit in the knee by a stray bullet, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition. Police said the boy doesn't know the men and was not with them when they were shot.
On Friday evening, three more people - including another 15-year-old boy - were injured in a shooting in South Chicago.
They were standing on a sidewalk about 8:52 p.m. in the 8900 block of South Exchange Avenue when shots rang out, police said. The teen was struck in the arm and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition. A man, 18, was shot in the legs while a 23-year-old woman was struck in the arm and torso. They were taken to the same hospital in fair condition.
At least 28 other people have been wounded in citywide shootings between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.
Last weekend, 65 people were shot across the city, 18 of them fatally.
Sun-Times Media contributed to this report.
