Puerto Rican Festival Parade Shooting Adds To Weekend Of Gun Violence
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jun 22, 2015 3:35PM
A potentially gang-related shooting marred an otherwise successful Puerto Rican Festival and Parade Saturday afternoon in Humboldt Park.
As two groups of people on the Division Street parade route almost came to blows Saturday around 6:30 p.m., an unknown gunman fired a shot into the crowd that struck a 17-year-old boy in the left foot, authorities told Chicagoist.
The injured teen walked from the 2600 block of West Division Street to Norwegian American Hospital where he was treated and in good condition, authorities said. No one has been placed in custody over the incident, which appears to be gang related, but Area Central detectives are investigating it. The incident was recorded by a bystander at the parade:
The Puerto Rican Festival ran from Thursday to Sunday in Humboldt Park on the city's West Side, and peaked with the 36th Annual Puerto Rican People's Parade Saturday afternoon.
ABC7 News may need a refresher on where exactly Humboldt Park is. In a report on the shooting that has been online since Saturday, the news outlet referred to the area of West Division Street as the South Side, and incorrectly said the victim had suffered "a gunshot wound to the food."
Copy-editing is sometimes an uphill battle (for us too, we've all been there) but the people and neighborhoods caught up in Chicago's gun violence problem deserve more precision and attention than that. (Editor's Note: At least update the report and apologize for the mistake. C'mon ABC7, we saw a few folks making fun of you on social media so it's been brought to your attention. And maybe look at a map next time?)
At least three Chicagoans were killed by gunshots this weekend, and 33 were wounded, according to the Chicago Tribune, bringing the total number of homicides in Chicago to about 203 so far this year. That's up from 175 homicides by this time last year. The number of shootings, at 1,187, is also up by over 100 compared to last year, by the Tribune's count.
The weekend's tragic homicides include the death of 21-year-old James Jones, who died Saturday afternoon while reportedly shielding his mother from gunshots in South Chicago. An 18-year-old man was killed in West Humboldt Park late Saturday night after being shot in the chest, and on Sunday morning a 27-year-old man was found dead in a car in South Austin, with a fatal gunshot wound in his back.