Chicago shootings: 34 shot, 5 fatally in weekend violence across city, police say

Children, including 3-year-old boy, 7-year-old boy among victims

Jessica D'Onofrio Image
Monday, October 3, 2022
More than 30 shot, including children, in weekend gun violence
Some families are forever changed because of weekend gun violence in Chicago.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Weekend gun violence left 34 people shot, five fatally over the weekend, Chicago police said.

Several children were among the victims, including a three-year-old boy killed on Friday and a seven-year-old boy shot on his way to church.

A West Lawn shooting killed 3-year-old Mateo Zastro on Marquette after a road rage incident, the Chicago Police Department and the ME said.

Road rage shooting: $7K reward offered after 3-year-old boy shot, killed in West Lawn, police say

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown spoke about the violence at a news conference at noon.

WATCH: CPD Supt. David Brown speaks after several children shot over weekend

CPD Supt. David Brown spoke after several children were struck by gunfire in Chicago weekend shootings.

Police said the family of the seven-year-old boy was driving to church when they noticed a man breaking into one of their other cars that was parked.

They confronted the suspect, who police said pulled out a rifle and fired shots in the family's direction, striking the boy in the leg.

That suspect was caught by police and the child is expected to recover.

Chicago shooting: 7-year-old boy shot when family confronts person breaking into car, CPD says

"We've seen children shot across this city in ridiculous numbers, Chicago Police Deputy Chief Larry Snelling said. "When did we become a society where we stop caring about the children?"

The shooting came days after three-year-old Mateo Zastro was killed.

On Friday police said that shooting was sparked by road rage as the child sat in the back seat of his mother's car near Cicero Avenue and West 71st Street in the West Lawn neighborhood.

At least six minors have been shot in the past week, according to ABC7 data.

Meanwhile a prayer vigil will be held Monday for Mateo Zastro at 6 p.m. at 66th Street and Pulaski Road.

A Chicago police officer shot and killed a man in the Old Town neighborhood Sunday morning, officials said.

About 5:05 a.m., the man, believed to be in his 20s, was fatally shot by an officer in the 400-block of West Blackhawk Street, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Sunday morning. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died from his gunshot wounds, Chicago Fire Department officials said.

Before the shooting, two officers on patrol were flagged down by a person who said someone had pointed a gun at them, Brown said.

After the officers found the man who allegedly pointed the gun, a foot chase ensued and the officers temporarily lost sight of the man, Brown added. When the man was found a second time, one officer opened fire, fatally striking him.

Brown couldn't say how many shots were fired or whether the man pointed a weapon at the officers. A weapon and shell casings that didn't match the officer's weapon were recovered near the man, according to police.

Casey Rodriguez, 30, was found with a gunshot wound to the head about 11:40 a.m. Saturday inside a home in the 2000-block of South Michigan Avenue, police and the medical examiner's office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Details of the shooting were not available.

About an hour and a half later, a 30-year-old man was killed in a shooting in Roseland on the Far South Side. He was shot in the head about 1:20 p.m. in the 300-block of West 110th Street, police said. A 21-year-old man was found with multiple gunshot wounds later Saturday in the same block. He was found about 9:05 p.m. by responding officers and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died.

A man was fatally shot early Sunday after an argument on the Near North Side. About 5:20 a.m., the man, 38, was found on a sidewalk in the 30- block of West Division Street where he had been shot multiple times in the body by someone he was arguing with, police said. He was taken to Northwestern, where he died, police said.

Two teens were wounded by gunfire Saturday night in Greater Grand Crossing on the South Side. A boy, 14, and a 19-year-old man were standing in the 7200-block of South Dobson Street about 6:20 p.m. when someone pulled up next to them in a car and an occupant started shooting, police said.

Another 14-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon in Auburn Gresham on the South Side. He was walking about noon in the 800-block of West 87th Place when someone approached him and fired a gun, police said. The boy was struck in the shoulder and leg.

Early Saturday on the South Side, a man was shot during an attempted robbery in the Kenwood neighborhood. About 12:45 a.m., the man, 29, was walking in the 140- block of East 47th Street when he was shot as two suspects were trying to rob him, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition.

Last weekend, 38 people were shot, seven fatally, in weekend gun violence.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.