Chicago Is Closing Out January With At Least 300 Shootings, 53 Fatalities

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jan 31, 2017 8:50PM

Chicago is closing out the first month of 2017 with a gun violence rate that shows no signs of slowing. The city has seen over 300 shootings this month, at least 53 of them fatal, according to the Chicago Tribune's tally. There were about 50 people fatally shot here last January, for comparison.

The most recent numbers include a Monday night shooting in Wicker Park, in which a man walked into a liquor store around 10:25 p.m., and started arguing with a 26-year-old employee there, before pulling out a gun. The altercation moved outside the store, and the man shot the male employee in the leg. he was taken to Stroger Hospital in stable condition, according to police.

The police department told ABC7 that they have been making more gun arrests this year than last year, and the department is hiring more officers to help with the volume of police work. They also said that around half of the homicides combined took place in three South and West side police districts.

So far on Tuesday, at least four people were shot in three separate shootings. In one incident, two people checked themselves into Mt. Sinai Hospital with gunshot wounds Tuesday morning, and they told police they were shot in the 4400 block of South Campbell Avenue in Brighton Park. An hour later, a 27-year-old man was shot in the groin and finger in the 900 block of West 71st Street in Englewood.

And early Tuesday morning, a 25-year-old man was shot in the chest in the 8700 block of South Houston Street. He was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition, police said, but due to a language barrier (the man is identified by police as Hispanic) police were not able to determine the circumstances around the shooting.

[H/T Tribune]