Despite Deadly Thursday, Shootings Down In Chicago Compared To 2016

By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 31, 2017 3:12PM

Violent crime is down in Chicago compared to last year, although homicide and shooting numbers took a spike after a particularly bloody Thursday.

The Tribune reports that through Wednesday, Chicago had logged 124 homicides, down from 137, or 9.5 percent. But a brutal day in South Shore saw seven people fatally shot in that neighborhood, including a brazen quadruple homicide and the shooting death of a pregnant woman, which pushed the number up to 131.

Seven people were shot in addition to the seven killed on Thursday, which bring the total number of shooting victim to 699—which is still well down from last year's figure at this time, 786.

Despite the decline, the overall figure is still high compared to recent years outside of 2016. Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) on Wednesday advanced a plan to distribute $25 million between Chicago's 50 wards for violence prevention and jobs program ahead of the historically violent summer months, and the Chicago Park District is putting up as much as $12 million to increase police patrols at the lakefront and in parks.