CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING THE CHICAGO WAY

61 Shot, 9 Fatally, Across Chicago Thanksgiving Weekend

NBC Chicago
November 28, 2016

Two men killed about 10 minutes apart brought the Thanksgiving weekend tally to eight fatal shootings.

In all, at least 61 people were shot in attacks across the city over four-day holiday weekend, according to Chicago Police.

Last year, 8 people were killed and 20 were wounded in shootings during the same holiday weekend, beginning at 7 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving.

The latest homicide happened at 2:03 p.m. Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood. An 18-year-old man was sitting in a parked vehicle in the 8800 block of South Marshfield Avenue when someone fired at the vehicle from an SUV, police said. The SUV, described as being dark in color, was driven away from the scene, headed north on Marshfield. The 18-year-old suffered several shots to the chest and took himself to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His name has not yet been released.

About 10 minutes earlier, in East Garfield Park, a 37-year-old man had been shot dead, police said. Rickey J. King was with a group in the 3800 block of West Adams Street when someone across the street opened fire; the assailant then fled on south on foot. King was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

At 2:38 a.m. Sunday in the Homan Square neighborhood on the West Side, two men were seated in a parked vehicle in the 3400 block of West Harrison Street when a silver car stopped in front of them and two males wearing hooded sweatshirts exited the car and opened fire, police said. Erik Peoples, 30, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and body and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The other man, 31, was shot in the right arm and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

A 56-year-old man was gunned down at 3:38 p.m. Saturday in the South Side Woodlawn neighborhood, authorities said. Witnesses told police they saw two men get into a fight and then heard a gunshot in the 6600 block of South Kenwood Avenue. The man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene at 3:47 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. His name has not been released.

About 2:15 a.m. Saturday two gunmen opened fire outside a house party in the South Chicago neighborhood’s 8800 block of South Exchange Avenue, authorities said. A 20-year-old man shot in the chest was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner’s office has not released his name. Another 20-year-old man shot in the groin was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, along with a 21-year-old man wounded in the arm, police said. A 25-year-old woman was taken to Stroger Hospital with a graze wound to the head, a 22-year-old man shot in the hand went to Trinity Hospital and a 23-year-old man shot in the arm went to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Their conditions all had stabilized, police said.

Friday evening, a 16-year-old boy was slain in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. Diego Alvarado heard gunfire and realized he’d been shot in the back, groin and arm about 6:40 p.m. near his home in the 4800 block of South Throop Street, authorities said. Alvarado died at Stroger at 7:32 p.m.

Five hours earlier, two people robbed 24-year-old Thomas Smith and then shot him in the abdomen shortly before 2 p.m. in the 7300 block of South Lowe Avenue in the South Side Englewood neighborhood, authorities said. Smith, of the 9600 block of South Dobson, died at Stroger at 4:30 p.m.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m. Friday, officers on patrol near Harrison and Central Park Avenue in Homan Square heard gunfire and saw 37-year-old Cleotha Mitchell fatally shoot 35-year-old Jeffery Banks, according to police. The officers “engaged the offender” and shot him, according to police, who said Mitchell had shot a second person in the arm. That person’s condition was stabilized at a hospital, while Mitchell and Banks were pronounced dead at the scene at 12:44 a.m.

The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the officers’ use of force in that shooting, as well as that of a CPD sergeant who fatally shot 19-year-old Kajuan Raye in the back a night earlier. The sergeant said he saw Raye point a gun at him twice during a West Englewood foot chase. As of Friday night, investigators had not found the weapon the sergeant claimed he saw. Raye’s family was planning to file a federal lawsuit.

One of the weekend’s latest nonfatal shooting happened at 10:19 p.m. Sunday in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood on the South Side. A 20-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk in the 6500 block of South King when someone in a green car fired shots, police said. He was shot in the left leg and taken to University of Chicago Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Earlier Sunday, a 32-year-old man was seriously wounded in a shooting in the River North neighborhood. Around 6:06 a.m., he was in the 600 block of North Clark when a gunman on a bike rode up and opened fire, according to police. He was shot in the abdomen and taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said, adding that he is a convicted felon. Additional details were not immediately available.

About an hour earlier, a 21-year-old man was shot in the Logan Square neighborhood on the Northwest Side. He was involved in an argument with a group of people at 5:08 a.m. in the 2700 block of North Ridgeway when someone in the group pulled out a gun and fired shots, striking the man in the right leg, police said. He took himself to Community First Medical Center and will be transferred in good condition to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. A police source said the man is a documented gang member and convicted felon.

At least 43 more people were wounded in other attacks between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Sunday.