January Shootings, Murders Drop Compared To 2017
CHICAGO (CBS) -- January ended on a violent note in Chicago, with three people shot and killed in a span of 10 minutes, but police said the month still wrapped up with significantly fewer shootings and murders than the start of last year.
In all, 14 people were shot across Chicago on Wednesday, four of them fatally. The youngest shooting victim was an 11-year-old boy who was shot in the arm when stray bullets from a drive-by shooting went through the front windows of his home in the East Side neighborhood.
The boy was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was in serious condition Thursday morning.
The day's spate of gun violence brought the total number of shooting victims in January to 195, and the total number of murders in January to 39.
According to data provided by Chicago police, the number of shooting victims dropped 33 percent compared to last January, when 293 people were shot. Murders dropped 25 percent compared to the first month of 2016, when 52 people were slain in Chicago.
Police credited the crime reductions to their continued efforts to getting illegal guns off the streets, the hiring of new patrol officers, and improved training and technology.