At Least 58 People Shot In Chicago This Weekend; 6 Dead, 52 Wounded
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Nearly 60 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, six of them fatally, including two missing teenage boys found dead in a field late Sunday night. The bloodshed made for the second most violent weekend of the year in Chicago, and the second weekend this month at least 60 people were shot.
Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said "it doesn't take a rocket scientist" to figure out why the shootings keep happening: the shooters don't fear any significant consequences in court.
CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said three people of interest were in custody in connection with some of the shootings as of Monday morning. Officers also shut down 68 gatherings over the weekend for illegal activity, seized 83 guns, and arrested 29 people on gun charges.
From 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Sunday night, at least 58 people were shot across Chicago. At least six of those victims died.
In one of those shootings, police said a 15-year-old boy shot and killed himself while fleeing from officers who spotted him with a gun in the North Lawndale neighborhood. However, his family disputes the official ruling of a suicide in that case.
Most recently, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were found shot and killed in a field on the edge of Golden Gate Park at 130th and Eberhart. The father of one boy identified him as 16-year-old Raysuan Turner. The other boy's identity has not been confirmed, but community activist Andrew Holmes said both boys had been reported missing on Friday.
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The weekend's other fatal shootings included:
• Daquan Albright, 17, was shot and killed near 73rd and Claremont around 6:15 p.m. Sunday,
• a 19-year-old man shot and killed near 40th and Calumet around 3:30 p.m. Sunday,
• Dennis Thomas Jr., 33, was shot and killed while sitting in a car in the 4600 block of North Clifton around 8:10 a.m. Sunday,
• a 23-year-old man shot in the back on the sidewalk on the 2300 block of West 72nd around 8 p.m. Saturday,
• a 27-year-old man shot and killed near 70th and Sangamon shortly before 3 p.m. Friday,
• and 15-year-old Steven Rosenthal, who authorities say shot himself in the head while fleeing police Friday evening.
Rosenthal's family has disputed that he killed himself, and is demanding to see police body camera video of the incident. Police have said ballistics and camera evidence shows no officers fired their weapons, but the department has not said if it will release body camera video.
The weekend's bloodshed also included at least two mass shootings.
Five people were wounded in a shooting after a softball game Sunday night in the South Shore neighborhood. Police said someone in a black van opened fire near 75th and Dante shortly before 11 p.m., striking four men and a woman.
A 30-year-old man shot in the ankle, a 40-year-old woman shot in the calf, a 42-year-old man shot in the arm, and an adult male shot in the chest all were being treated at the University of Chicago trauma center. The man shot in the chest was in serious condition, the other three were not seriously hurt. A 26-year-old man who was shot in the leg was stabilized at Jackson Park Hospital & Medical Center.
The other mass shooting happened Friday night in the Englewood neighborhood. Police said six of the people were out in front of a home near 65th and Marshfield, enjoying a summer evening, when they heard gunfire and realized they had been shot. The victims included a 3-year-old boy. A seventh person was struck by a stray bullet in her back yard.
• Victim #1: A 27-year-old was shot in the torso and transported to University of Chicago Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #2: A 3-year-old boy was shot in the left shin and transported to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #3: A 30-year-old man was shot in the left leg and transported to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #4: A 29-year-old man was shot in the left calf and drove himself to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #5: A 30-year-old man was shot in the lower back and drove himself to Mt. Sinai Hospital in serious condition.
• Victim #6: A 26-year-old man was shot in the left and and left leg and was drove himself to to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #7: A 38-year-old woman's left arm was grazed by a bullet. She was treated on the scene.
Police sources said the area is known for gang activity, but that hasn't been linked to the crime just yet.
Meantime, at a Saturday picnic organized to promote peace, people had gathered in Seward Park when some young people came by and started shooting. At least htree people were wounded in the attack, including a 28-year-old man who was critically wounded. A fourth person was beaten at the scene.
The bloody weekend comes two weeks after the most violent weekend of the year in Chicago, when 66 people were shot on the first weekend of August, 12 of them fatally. That weekend's shootings prompted the Chicago Police Department to deploy hundreds of extra officers to five of the districts hardest hit by gun violence.
This story has been corrected to reflect a total of 58 shooting victims from 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday night. An earlier version of this story began tallying the weekend's shootings earlier in the day on Friday.
