Nearly 80 People Shot In Chicago, 15 Of Them Killed, In July 4th Weekend Violence Since Late Friday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Nearly 80 people have been shot in Chicago since Friday night this July 4th holiday weekend, and 15 of them have been killed.
Twelve of the weekend shooting victims were under age 18. Two of the 12 were killed.
Among the incidents were a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl dead while she was visiting her grandmother for a 4th of July party in South Austin Saturday night, and two mass shootings – one of which left four people dead and four more wounded.
Around 7:02 p.m. Saturday, Natalia Wallace, 7, was shot in the forehead as she and other children played in the yard in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue. She was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County where she later died, police said.
Natalia was on the sidewalk when a light-colored vehicle pulled up and an unknown number of people exited. Those people then took out guns and fired shots her direction, police said.
A 32-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, police said. He transported himself to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the ankle and a graze wound to the leg.
Family describes Natalia as "sweet, shy, loving, and good at math."
"Kids outside playing, they shouldn't have to worry about guns and people shooting," Natalia's father, Nathan Wallace, told CBS 2's Marissa Parra.
A person of interest was being questioned Sunday night in Natalia's death. Charges are pending.
About four and a half hours later, eight people were shot in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street in Englewood. Four of them – including a 14-year-old boy – died.
There was a large gathering in the middle of the street when police say four men walked up and started shooting.
Police said that boy was shot in the back while playing with two other boys, ages 11 and 15. They were also both struck by gunfire and were reported in fair condition Sunday.
Two others, a 29-year-old man in fair condition and a 35-year-old man in critical condition, were being treated at St. Bernard Hospital Sunday. Three other victims – whose ages were not initially specified – also died in addition to the 14-year-old boy, police said.
An attorney representing the family of the teen who was killed identified him as Vernado Jones. A 30-year-old man identified as Ernest Franklin was also among those killed.
Police also responded to another mass shooting around 1:15 Sunday morning near 15th Street and Millard Avenue in North Lawndale. Police said a group of people were lighting fireworks on the sidewalk when a car pulled up and someone inside started shooting towards the crowd.
Six people were shot in that incident. A 28-year-old woman identified as Thornella Grubbs was shot in the head and abdomen and died at the hospital. Five other victims, all men between the ages of 27 and 44, were being treated at different hospitals in good to critical condition.
Another child was also wounded early Sunday morning in West Rogers Park. At 12:58 p.m., a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old woman were in an apartment building in the 7400 block of North Artesian Avenue when a man fired shots through the door and struck them both.
The girl was taken to AMITA Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition with a graze wound to the right hand, while the women was taken to the same hospital in serious conditions with gunshots to both legs.
And around 10:25 p.m. Saturday, a 15-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet in the 3000 block of South Tripp Avenue in Little Village. He was wounded in the knee and was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in fair condition.
Police believe the bullets were fired a couple of blocks away in an alley behind the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue by someone in a passing vehicle. A 23-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg. Both were in fair condition Sunday.
And around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, four people were in an alley in the 3700 block of West Jackson Boulevard near the park of Garfield Park, when they heard shots and held pain. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the side, a 19-year-old man was shot in each thigh, a 35-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the buttocks, and a 55-year-old man was shot in the buttocks.
All were either in good condition or refused treatment.
Meanwhile, in other fatal shootings this weekend:
• At 1:55 a.m. Saturday, two men were inside a business in the 6600 block of South Halsted Street in Englewood when someone opened fire. A 20-year-old man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center with gunshot wounds around his body and was pronounced dead. A 49-year-old man in a vehicle nearby was shot the left thigh and was taken to the same hospital in critical condition. The man who was killed is identified as Ishawn Nance.
• One woman was killed and two men were injured in a shooting around 5:20 a.m. Saturday at 31st Street and Lake Shore Drive. The 34-year-old woman and the two men, ages 26 and 32, were walking in the Saturday when a group of about six men came up to the woman, police said. Three of the four men distracted the woman, while two men took out guns and fired shots at the woman and the two male victims, police said. The woman died at the scene and the male victims were both hospitalized with gunshots. The woman who was killed is identified as Quentella Smith.
• At 7:16 a.m. Saturday, a 31-year-old man was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car in the 6400 block of South Hoyne Avenue in West Englewood, when someone pulled up in a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle and began firing shots. The victim was shot in the chest, neck, and right arm and was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He was identified as Michael P. Means.
• One man was killed and another man and woman were wounded in a shooting at 9:43 p.m. Saturday in South Shore. The victims were standing on the sidewalk in the 2700 block of East 75th Street when someone fired shots from a blue sport-utility vehicle. A 33-year-old man was shot multiple times in the chest and was driven by an acquaintance to Jackson Park Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A 44-year-old man was in fair condition at the U of C Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the left thigh, and a 27-year-old woman refused treatment after suffering a graze wound to the ankle. The man who was killed is identified as Tyrone Long.
• One man was killed and three others were wounded in a shooting in South Chicago around 11:09 p.m. Saturday. The victims were standing on the sidewalk in the 8300 block of South Kingston Avenue when they heard shots and felt pain. A 39-year-old man was pronounced dead at the U of C Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the head, while a 26-year-old man was shot in the right shoulder, a 60-year-old man was shot in the right leg, and a 19-year-old man was also shot in the leg. The man who was killed is identified as Cartrell Tate.
• One man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting around 12:35 a.m. Sunday in the Altgeld Gardens public housing development. The victims were standing in a parking lot in the 1000 block of East 132nd Street when they got into a quarrel with another man. The victims left the parking lot and walked into a home, where the gunman fired through the door and shot them both, police said. A 24-year-old man was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after being shot in the torso, while a 20-year-old man was in fair condition at the same hospital with a gunshot wound to the left leg. The man who was killed is identified as David Scott.
• A man was standing on the sidewalk in the 8600 block of South Vincennes Avenue in Auburn Gresham, when someone fired shots at 2:15 a.m. Sunday. The 21-year-old man was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the head. He was identified as Charles Evans.
• Around 12:45 p.m. Sunday, a 26-year-old man suffered multiple gunshots to his body in the 1400 block of North Kingsbury Street, on the Near North Side opposite Goose Island. The man was rushed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. He was identified as Kenric D. Campbell.
• At 2:27 a.m. Monday, a 39-year-old man was found shot and unresponsive in the 900 block of South Independence Boulevard in the Homan Square neighborhood. He had been shot once in the upper left side of his chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The man was identified as Sterling R. Pledge Jr. Further details were not available.
Police Supt. David Brown addressed the public Monday morning after the violent weekend.
"On behalf of the Chicago Police Department, I extend my deepest, deepest condolences and sympathies to all the families," Brown said. "We cannot allow this to be normalized. We cannot get used to children being gunned down in Chicago every weekend."
Brown said the police department will not stop until this violence ends. Brown said he wants to revamp the electronic monitoring system and keep violent offenders in jail longer to reduce crime.
"I just hope that the, the tragedies here, these past three weekends, brings us all to the table so that we can revamp monitoring program, find a way to hold violent offenders in jail longer, Chicago deserves us for figure this out," he said. "We will leverage every resource at our disposal to not just catch these killers, but have been it from happening ever again," Brown said.
He said tips can be sent to police through cpdtip.com.
Brown attributed crime to lack of services in neighborhoods in poverty.
President Donald Trump on Sunday addressed the shootings in Chicago in a tweet, and also addressed an uptick in shootings in New York City – singling out New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for criticism. Nearly 40 people were shot in at least 20 incidents on Sunday alone in New York City, and at least four of them died, Cory James of CBS 2 New York reported.
"Federal Government ready, willing and able to help, if asked!" President Trump tweeted.