Weekend Violence Leads To 10 Dead, Gruesome Discovery In Chatham

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jul 20, 2015 4:15PM

Chicago's pattern of summertime violence did not let up this weekend, with at least ten people killed or found dead and at least 34 wounded. Among those found dead by authorities were a mother and her three boys, whose bodies were found decomposing Saturday night in their East Chatham home.

Authorities told the Tribune the cause of the family's death was still unknown as of Sunday. The home appeared to have experienced a fire, according to fire department officials who received a call reporting a fire at that address earlier in the week. Detectives said the victims' bodies appeared to have been sitting in the house for several days before they were found.

Three men were also found dead this weekend in an apparent double-murder-suicide in Mayfair. The men, a 73-year-old and two 30-somethings, were family members, according to authorities.

Shootings also wounded at least 34 people from Albany Park to Roseland, according to the Tribune, with at least 18 shootings concentrated on the city's West Side. There were also three police-involved shootings reported this weekend by authorities, including one near Goose Island in which a man was reportedly found beating another man with a baseball bat and refused to stop hitting his victim when police told him to.

The city's shootings count so far this year has now risen to over 1,480 shootings, higher than last year's tally of shootings to-date (1,352) by more than 100. Chicago has seen 254 homicides so far this year, according to a Tribune analysis of city data, up from 220 in 2014 and 229 in 2013 through July 20.