By Peter Nickeas
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Independence Day weekend shootings in Chicago left 64 people wounded, four fatally, with a period of 15 hours Monday into Tuesday that accounted for half of the weekend’s victims.
Twenty-eight of those shot were wounded after Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson spoke of progress at a Monday night press conference about 8 p.m., including the weekend’s youngest victims.
Among the wounded: a 5-year-old and 7-year-old shot in West Englewood while lighting fireworks, an 11-year-old whose wound was first thought to be caused by fireworks, and a 15-year-old left in critical condition after he was shot leaving a store.
“While we’ve seen violence in areas that have historically been a challenge, so far there’s been a decrease compared to the last few years, and we’re hopeful that we can continue (the) trend for the remainder of the Fourth of July weekend,” Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters Monday in Washington Park.
While Johnson praised the department’s efforts, he said the city is not looking at the crime numbers as a success.
“We’re making progress, it’s not success yet,” Johnson said. “But this goes a long way, I think, to let everybody know we are focusing on the right individuals.”
The shootings included eight multiple-victim incidents, including the West Englewood shooting that left the children shot. Two adults with them were also shot. All four had their conditions stabilized - the children at Comer Children’s Hospital and the adults at the University of Chicago Hospital. They were shot in the 5500 block of South Hermitage Avenue about 11 p.m. Monday.
Two people were shot to death during the hectic afternoon-into-morning period late Monday and early Tuesday. A man was found shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood after police and paramedics were called to traffic crash with an ejected occupant. Police found no evidence of a crash and believe the man may have been pushed out of a car after he was shot. Another man was shot to death in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in an attack that left two women nearby wounded.
At least 64 people shot over Independence Day weekend in Chicago https://t.co/MQkxVlcchk pic.twitter.com/UqCZlXF034
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) July 5, 2016
A fifth person killed over the weekend was stabbed in a domestic-related incident, police said.
———
©2016 the Chicago Tribune