The 4th of July weekend was extremely violent as 49 people were shot in Chicago and seven men were killed.
According to a collection of reports, 42 people who witnessed shootings over the weekend were wounded throughout the city. Among those wounded was a 5-year-old boy who was shot alongside two men at a West Pullman park. Several hours prior to that shooting, a 7-year-old boy was shot at a park in Chatham.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy also revealed that, in the early morning hours, three people were shot in the 1000 block of West Maxwell Street.
McCarthy said in a statement:
“While to date we’ve had significantly fewer shootings and significantly fewer murders this year, there’s more work to be done and we won’t rest until everyone in Chicago enjoys the same sense of safety.”
In another shooting, a 21-year-old was shot in the foot and was rushed to Holy Cross Hospital. Following the young man’s shooting, a 25-year-old man and 21-year-old man were taken to Stroger Hospital.
A few short hours later, a 40-year-old man was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital. All three shooting victims were listed in stable condition.
A 31-year-old man was also shot multiple times in the South Austin neighborhood. According to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli, the man was walking on the sidewalk in the 300 block of North Pine Avenue when he heard shots and then felt pain from a direct hit. The man suffered wounds to the right thigh and left ankle but was listed in stable condition.
Only moments before the 31-year-old man was shot, a 26-year-old was hit with a bullet in the shoulder while standing with a group of men on the corner near 79th and Elizabeth streets. That victim was treated at the Advocate Christ Medical Center.
As the weekend carried on, more shootings were reported in various areas around Chicago . Here is a list of several reported accounts:
- 38-year-old-man treated at University of Chicago Hospital (wound to left knee).
- 25-year-old shot in the buttocks and treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
- 22-year-old shot in the chest and treated at Mount Sinai Hospital.
- Two men shot at 5400 block of South Bishop Street. 43-year-old man shot in the thigh, struck in the buttocks.
- 29-year-old man was shot in the torso and treated at Mount Sinai Hospital (listed in critical condition).
- Elliott Frazier, 26, found dead with multiple gunshots at the 7400 block of North Winchester Avenue.
- 20-year-old Shavonte Howard pronounced dead at 2:47 pm at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Two men were charged in Howard’s murder and other men have also been charged. Quintion Humphries, 19, was charged with first degree murder and Tommy Harris, 25, was also charged with first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Further shooting reports are available through the Chicago police department and other local authorities. With 49 shot in Chicago over such a short period of time, we are reminded that long weekends often turn deadly in urban areas.