12 killed, 45 wounded in weekend Chicago shootings

Chicago saw one of its deadliest weekends of the year, with 12 people killed and another 45 wounded by gunfire, including at least five children 15 or younger.

Nine of those killed were shot in a 12-hour span from Saturday night into early Sunday. Five people were shot during a drifting caravan in Brighton Park, three of them fatally. Among the children wounded across the city were a 12-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and two 15-year-old boys.

The last weekend that approached this level of gun violence was the middle of September, when nine people were killed and 54 were wounded. Even the long holiday weekends of summer did not have as high a death toll.

Ten people were killed over the Labor Day weekend; 10 were killed over the July Fourth weekend; and nine were killed over Memorial Day weekend.

Bearing the brunt of this weekend’s violence was the Deering Police District on the South Side, where three people were killed and two others were seriously hurt after gunfire erupted during a large drag race in Brighton Park about 4 a.m. Sunday, according to Chicago police.

Nearly 100 cars had taken over an intersection when about 13 shots rang out at Archer and Kedzie avenues, police said. A man, 20, was shot in his chest and left thigh and went to Holy Cross Hospital, where he died, police said.

Another man, also 20, was shot in his chest and upper body and went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.

A third person went to Holy Cross Hospital with gunshot wounds to his neck and chest and was pronounced dead.

Another man, 21, was shot in his right thigh and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition. A 19-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.

Four other people were shot in other attacks in the Deering District, where homicides are up 24% from a year ago and shootings are up 6%, according to police data.

Other fatal attacks

• Sunday night, a 50-year-old man was fatally shot in an Irving Park apartment hallway on the Northwest Side. About 9:10 p.m., the man was in the apartment in the 4300 block of North Whipple Street when he heard a disturbance from an upstairs neighbor, police said. He stepped into the hallway and was shot in his face by a gunman. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died.
• A man was found dead in Bronzeville around 4:15 a.m. Sunday. The man, 29, suffered a gunshot wound to his chest in the 4900 block of South King Drive, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
• Hours earlier, a man was shot and killed around 2 a.m. Sunday in a home in the Scottsdale neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The man, 37, was attacked in the 4600 block of West 87th Street, police said. He was shot in his abdomen and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
• A 16-year-old boy was killed and a 13-year-old girl was wounded Saturday night in North Lawndale on the West Side. The boy was standing outside in the 1200 block of South Fairfield Avenue about 8:20 p.m. when two men got out of a dark sedan and opened gunfire, striking him once in his back, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. The girl was hit twice in her neck by stray bullets. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.
• Around the same time, a man in his 20s was found shot to death in Austin on the West Side. He suffered a gunshot wound to his head in the 500 block of North Leclaire Avenue, police said.
• Another man was found fatally shot about an hour later at an apartment complex parking lot in South Shore. The man, believed to be in his 40s, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his head about 9:20 p.m. in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue, police said.
• About 10 minutes later, a 31-year-old man was killed during an argument at an Auburn Gresham home in the 8300 block of South Marshfield Avenue. The man was fighting with another man, also 31, who pulled out a handgun and shot him, police said. A suspect was arrested at the scene.

Other shootings

• A 14-year-old boy was grazed in his face Saturday night at a playground in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. He was wounded about 7 p.m. in the 4400 block of West Wilcox Street, police said. Hefferan Public School is on the block and has a small playground. The boy was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.
• Saturday morning, a 15-year-old boy was wounded in a drive-by shooting in Englewood on the South Side. He was standing outside in the 5700 block of South Princeton Avenue when a car stopped near him and someone inside fired shots, police said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
• Another 15-year-old boy was shot about six hours earlier in Bronzeville. The teen was walking in the 4000 block of South Langley Avenue about 1 a.m. when two men approached and opened fire, police said. He was struck in his right foot and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.
• A 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting Friday night in Lawndale on the West Side. He was standing in the 900 block of South Albany Avenue about 8:35 p.m. when someone in a gray car started shooting, police said. He was shot in his chest and transported in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.

At least 40 other people were shot between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday in Chicago.