Deadly gun violence among young people is on the rise in Chicago, numbers show
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 16-year-old girl was shot and killed overnight in an Englewood park, and unfortunately, her death is one of many recently involving kids and gunfire.
In 2020, more kids died by gunfire in the U.S. than in car crashes for the first time ever.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey looked at fatal shooting data for the "19 and under" age group and unfortunately found an uptick. Researchers said they are seeing it across the country, too.
Around 9:30 p.m. Monday, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the 5500 block of West Congress Parkway in the South Austin neighborhood. He was on the sidewalk when a gray sedan went by and someone shot him in the right leg – and he ended up at Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.
Less than an hour later, a group of young people gathered at 72nd Street and Stewart Avenue in Englewood. Video showed dozens of teens in the street.
Police believe multiple unknown offenders started firing at the crowd, striking 16-year-old Jayla Vrana in the back and grazing a 15-year-old girl in the left arm. While the younger girl is expected to make a full recovery, Jayla died soon after the shooting at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Evidence markers counted bullet casings as teens walked away from the crime scene.
Children have long been impacted by the cycle of gun violence in their communities, but this summer, the numbers are ticking slightly up.
So far this year in Chicago, at least 57 people "19 and under" have been shot and killed - compared to 53 by the same time last year. The numbers are still better than 2021 and 2020.
2017 was the deadliest year for kids in Chicago.
"Illinois is higher than the national average," said Krutika Amin of KFF, which conducts research and polling on health policy and related issues.
Amin knows the problem well. Her team just published an extensive study showing that the child firearm mortality rate doubled from 2013 to 2021.
While Illinois doesn't have the highest rate — that dubious distinction belongs to Louisiana — the Land of Lincoln still outranks some more populous states.
"The rate of firearm, child, and teen mortality in Illinois is about four times the rate seen in New York," Amin said.
Amin says KFF cannot interpret the reasons behind the uptick in gun violence against kids from these data alone. But states with restrictive gun laws tend to have fewer deaths.
Illinois has pretty tough gun laws, but our neighboring states don't.
At last check, no one was in custody for either of the recent shooting incidents that left those Chicago teens with gunshot wounds.
