2 dead, 3 hurt in 3 separate shootings in Little Village in less than 24 hours
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two people were killed and three others were hurt after three separate shootings in less than 24 hours on Sunday in the Little Village neighborhood.
The victims' families were planning Thanksgiving dinners at this time a few days ago. Now they are planning funerals—and one community leader says the neighborhood is surrounded by trauma.
"The victims are traumatized, the residents are traumatized, and most of our children," said Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council.
Enriquez said there is a ripple effect that has not only torn families apart, but also impacted the community because the shootings are happening all hours of the day.
"A lot of the businesses here in Little Village are also suffering, because they usually close at 9, 10 o'clock at night—and now they're going to be closing at 7,8 o'clock," he said. "I, myself, after 8 o'clock. I don't come out."
In the first shooting, one teen was killed and another was wounded around 1:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of South Avers Avenue.
Jesús M. Sanchez, 16, was killed in the shooting. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the back and was taken to the hospital in good condition.
"The families, instead of planning for a Thanksgiving dinner, now they got to plan a funeral. And that's unfortunate, right, because the holidays are right around the corner."
Little Village Community Council organizer Baltazar Enriquez says his neighborhood is plagued with violence.
A couple of blocks away, around 4 p.m., a 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were standing on the sidewalk in the 4000 block of West 26th Street, just west of Pulaski Road, when a dark-colored sedan pulled up, and someone inside shot them both.
The man was shot multiple times throughout the body and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. He has since been identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as Carlos Morales. The woman was shot in the left leg and was taken to the same hospital in good condition. The shooting happened right across the street from 22nd Ward Alderman Michael Rodriguez's office.
The shooters' vehicle fled in an unknown direction.
"It was in the day, during the day, like when people are shopping, people are coming in and out of the restaurants," Enriquez said, "and you know, there's always that innocent bystander that gets hit."
The shooting that took Morales' life happened right across the street from the ward office of Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd).
"It's senseless," Rodriguez said. "I think people have a real poverty of the heart when they think they can pick up a gun and solve their problems by killing somebody else."
The latest shooting happened near Mt. Sinai Hospital just before 11 p.m. in the 2300 block of South Washtenaw Avenue near Mount Sinai Hospital, where a 22-year-old man was shot while standing outside by an unknown person in a black sedan. The victim was hit in the arm and chest and taken to Mt. Sinai in fair condition.
"Our peace was broken this weekend. We've got families that have been impacted that will no longer see their loved ones," Rodriguez said.
Chicago police did not confirm if the three shootings are connected. No arrests were made in either incident.
Investigation into each of the shootings remains ongoing.