Chicago Gangs Give City Deadly Weekend..32 Shot, 2 Stabbed, 6 Dead

Source: CBS 2 Chicago

Chicago gang violence seems to be bubbling out of control and this weekend proved to be no different. Multiple shootings and murders marked the “Windy City” known for having a serious gang problem for decades. Though no specifics about particular gangs involvement has surfaced
authorities have pegged the violence to be come from gang related activities. Story below:

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A violent and deadly weekend continues in Chicago. At least 12 people have been shot, two of them killed, since Saturday morning. Two others were stabbed in a home invasion. This comes after at least 20 people were shot, four of them killed, from Friday night through early Saturday.

A 28-year-old man was shot and killed at an auto body repair shop on the Southwest Side Saturday morning. Raul Lemus was shot in the stomach at 2520 W. 59th St. at about 11:20 a.m.

Lemus, of 4630 S. Talman Av., died several hours later at Stroger Hospital, making him the sixth person killed in Chicago since Friday night. Police said the shooting appeared to be gang related.

Also Saturday morning, Michael Giles, 26, was shot and killed inside his home at 336 N. Avers Av. Harrison Area detectives are investigating.

In another case, a suspect toting an AK-47 has been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after allegedly killing a man and shooting at police. Bennie Teague, 39, was denied bond in the case Sunday afternoon.

It’s amazing no one was hurt during the shootout between police and Teague, who was firing an assault rifle. Police say the gunman opened fire on them Friday night at 110th and South Union. They tracked him down after he allegedly shot and killed 34-year-old Marcus Hendricks inside a plumbing business a few blocks away.

The 34-year-old from Flossmoor died after being shot just blocks from a police-involved shooting on the Far South Side. He died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 8 p.m., a Cook County Medical Examiner’s office spokesman said.

“All I could say is he’s a nice guy,” said neighbor Amos Williams.

The recent gunfire has rattled nerves throughout the Roseland neighborhood.

“It’s not that all the area, all the streets are bad,” Williams said. “It’s that you get bad elements coming through your street.”

“My son is in 8th grade, about to go to high school. As a parent, I’m very concerned,” said neighbor Charles Thomas.

Also, Friday night, two teens were gunned down in front of a church in the 7500 block of South Phillips.

Police say gunmen jumped out of a car and opened fire in front of the Free Salvation Methodist Baptist Church. One of the teens suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and back, the other was shot in the neck, police said.

Melvin Thomas, of 14922 Washington Ave. in Harvey was pronounced dead at the Stein Institute at 1:20 a.m. Rhonell Savala, of 9750 S. Hoxie Ave. in Chicago, was pronounced dead at 12:50 a.m. Saturday at the Stein Institute.

“I was in my house and my friend came and got me and he said two boys was laying outside on the stairs…dead,” said neighbor Tamara Roberson.

Flowers and teddy bears now serve as a memorial to 18-year-olds, Thomas and Savala.

“I live just a block away on 77th, kids were still outside,” Roberson said.

“To put the shooting in perspective, you have to consider this was a 17-hour window,” said Chicago Police spokesperson Monique Bond about the number of shootings.

Chicago police are now stepping up patrols in areas that they call “hot zones.” Police blame the warmer temperatures for the spike in violence.

“We know that we’re approaching warmer weather, the summer season. We know that this is going to be a very busy season for the Chicago Police Department. There’s no doubt about that,” Bond said.

Chicago Police have also recently started using helicopter patrols to try to curb gang violence. Choppers will be flying over areas prone to gang activity, especially on weekends when more shootings seem to occur.

Other shootings included, a 65-year-old man being shot dead outside his home on the Southeast Side during an attempted robbery.

Ricardo Sanchez of 8439 S. Exchange Ave. was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.

Sunday morning, two people were critically injured when an intruder broke into their apartment in Ravenswood and stabbed them both. Police said a 26-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were stabbed in a home invasion at 1932 W. Winona St. about 6 a.m. Sunday.

Both victims were in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The intruder was in custody Sunday morning, but no charges had been filed.

In most of the other shootings, the injuries were less serious, but the violence affected nearly every part of the city.

Six of the people shot and wounded Saturday night were injured in two separate incidents less than a block away from each other and less than an hour apart.

Three men were shot at about 10:50 p.m. near the intersection of Latrobe Avenue and Madison Street, police said. Two of the men were shot in their feet and one man was shot in the leg. All three men were taken to the hospital in “stable” condition.

About 40 minutes later, three more people were shot less than a block away at 5361 W. Madison St. Authorities said a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old were among the victims. One of those victims was in critical condition; the other two were in fair condition. Grand Central Area detectives are investigating.

Also Saturday night, a 19-year-old man was driving down the street in the South Side’s Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood Saturday night when shots were fired at his vehicle and he was hit in the arm, authorities said. The man was in “stable” condition at Stroger Hospital Saturday night.

On the Far South Side, a 34-year-old man suffered a gunshot to his shoulder while standing in his yard Saturday night. The man was standing in his yard in the 10900 block of South Green Bay Avenue about 9 p.m. when someone began firing, hitting him in the left shoulder. Calumet Area detectives are investigating.

In the Southeast Side’s South Chicago neighborhood, two men suffered minor gunshot wounds after hearing shots fired at about 8:15 p.m. The two men, aged 25 and 24, were driving south on the 8200 block of South Muskegon Avenue, when they heard shots fired and realized they had been hit.

Meantime, a 17-year-old male was in good condition early Sunday after he was shot on the 6800 block of South Parnell Avenue in an apparent drive-by. Wentworth Area detectives are investigating.

A 24-year-old man was also shot early Sunday on the 1900 block of Howard Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood. A gunman approached the victim on the street and began firing, police said. The victim was shot in the leg and was listed in “stable” condition. Belmont Area detectives are investigating.

Friday night, three teens were shot near 70th and Wood streets in the West Englewood neighborhood. At least one of the victims was in critical condition.

Also Friday night, a 32-year-old man was shot in the 6400 block of South Morgan Street in the Englewood neighborhood. And at 9:42 p.m., a person was shot in the knee in the 11200 block of South State Street in the Roseland neighborhood.

Shortly before midnight, two teenage boys were shot, again in the West Englewood neighborhood. The boys, one 16-year-old and one 15-year-old, were shot in their legs at 6330 S. Damen Ave around 11:45 p.m. Their injuries were not considered serious.

And about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a robbery victim was shot on the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue. The robber demanded money from the victim, police said. The victim ran away, but not before the robber got off one shot.

In the 1000 block of West Sunnyside Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, a man was shot in his upper thigh around 11:35 p.m. Friday. Police said the victim was not cooperating with the investigation, and there were several conflicting stories about the shooting.

On the Southwest Side, a man riding in a car in the 5100 block of South Christiana Avenue was wounded when someone fired shots inside around 10:45 p.m. Friday. The man, believed to be in his 30s, was shot in his left arm and taken in good condition to Holy Cross Hospital.

On the West Side, a man was shot multiple times and critically wounded in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The man was shot in the 700 block of North Drake Avenue just after 1:45 a.m., and taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Also on the West Side, 21-year-old man was in good condition early Saturday after he was shot in the right leg on the 4400 block of West Adams Street. The man was standing there abut 2:35 a.m. when someone in a passing car fired shots at him, police said.

In broad daylight Friday evening, two teenage girls were shot in the thigh in separate incidents on the Southeast and Southwest sides.

In the first incident, a girl was shot and wounded in the arm in the 2700 block of West 66th Street. A Chicago Lawn District sergeant indicated that another person was also shot in the incident.

In the second incident, a 15-year-old girl was shot in the thigh in the 8700 block of South Euclid Avenue.

Just two blocks from the scene of the first shooting where a girl was wounded, a man was shot at 5:40 p.m., police said.

And around 6:30 p.m., a teenage boy was shot in the 6000 block of South Campbell Avenue. He was taken to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital in serious condition, police said.

The STNG Wire contributed to this report.

~ by streetknowledge on April 21, 2008.