With 9 killed, Chicago has deadliest February weekend in 18 years

In terms of violence, Chicago hadn’t seen a weekend like that in 18 years.

The nine murders on the South and West sides between Friday night and early Sunday were the most in a single February weekend since 2002, according to a review of publicly available police data. All nine victims were men between 19 and and 39 years old.

Another 14 people were wounded by gunfire, including a 7-year-old girl in Humboldt Park.

During the same time span, a veteran CPD detective took her own life and a man was fatally shot by an officer after, police say, he shot another man outside a bar in Lake View.

Anthony Guglielmi, the CPD’s chief spokesman, said three persons of interest have been taken into custody in connection with various murder investigations, and two more people have been arrested in nonfatal shootings.

“We’re taking the weekend very seriously and adjusting deployments in real time,” Guglielmi said, adding gun arrests and gun seizures are up “significantly” in 2020.

Chicago has recorded 50 murders so far in 2020. Three more people have been fatally shot by police officers.

Interim police Supt. Charlie Beck is set to meet Tuesday with Mayor Lori Lightfoot to discuss the weekend violence.

“While there is no such thing as a tolerable level of violence, this past weekend was utterly unacceptable,” mayoral spokesman Patrick Mullane said. “Mayor Lightfoot will keep demanding more from everyone — herself, the superintendent, the department but also community members. Everyone has a role to play in reducing violence.”

From 2001 through 2015, Chicago averaged 24 homicides during February. In 2016, the total jumped to 47, with 49 murders recorded in February 2017. Forty-one people were killed in Chicago in February 2018. Last February, 25 people were killed in Chicago.