125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer

Total Is About Double The U.S. Troop Death Toll In Iraq
Sep 5, 2008

CHICAGO (CBS) ― An estimated 125 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 125 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

In the same time period, an estimated 247 people were shot and wounded in the city.

Police department spokeswoman Monique Bond disputed the numbers, saying in an e-mail that sometimes shootings are re-classified as accidental. She said the CBS 2 analysis did not match official department statistics, but she did not provide details. CBS 2 has asked for that information.

"The department officially releases crime statistics on a monthly basis to ensure the proper investigations are thoroughly conducted to determine manner and motive which also may result in reclassifications, '' Bond said.

Violent crime reports available on the department's website do not break down shootings by month. However, the latest report shows that the murder in the city is up 18 percent from last year. From January-July, the department reports 291 people were murdered, compared with 246 for the same period in 2007.

Bond said gang-related violence presents the most serious danger to Chicago residents.

"Gang and gun violence continue to be the dominating threat on our streets," Bond said in an e-mail. "Up to 60 percent of the shootings are gang related. More than 90 percent of the offenders have criminal histories and up to 80 percent of the victims have criminal histories."

For total shootings, the South Side's Englewood District, which includes the Englewood and West Englewood neighborhoods on the city's South Side, fared the worst over the summer. A total of 11 people were shot dead there, and 46 were shot and wounded.

The highest homicide totals came in the Grand Crossing District, which includes the South Shore, Woodlawn, Park Manor and Grand Crossing neighborhoods on the South Side, 13 people were killed and 24 were injured.

Also hit severely by gun violence over the summer was the Harrison District on the city's West Side, where 11 people were shot dead and 25 were shot and wounded. In the Southwest Side's Chicago Lawn District, 12 people were shot and killed and 15 were shot and wounded. In the Ogden District – which includes the Near Southwest Side's Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods – nine people were killed and eight were injured.

The South Chicago District on the Southeast Side saw nine people killed and 18 injured, almost all concentrated in the South Chicago and Avalon Park neighborhoods at the north end of the district.

The  Far South Side's Calumet District – including the Roseland, Fernwood and Pullman neighborhoods – saw nine killed and 23 injured.

Breakdown of summer shootings by police district:
• District 1 – Central (Loop, West Loop, Near South Side): 1 dead, 4 injured
• District 2 – Wentworth (Washington Park, Bronzeville, Fuller Park): 2 dead, 10 injured
• District 3 – Grand Crossing (South Shore, Woodlawn, Park Manor, Grand Crossing) 13 dead, 24 injured
• District 4 – South Chicago (Far Southeast Side to Indiana state line): 9 dead, 18 injured
• District 5 – Calumet (Roseland, Fernwood, West Pullman): 9 dead, 23 injured
• District 6 – Gresham (Auburn-Gresham, Chatham): 5 dead, 19 injured
• District 7 – Englewood (Englewood, West Englewood: 11 dead, 46 injured
• District 8 – Chicago Lawn (most of the Southwest Side): 12 dead, 15 injured
• District 9 – Deering (Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, Canaryville, Brighton Park): 4 dead, 15 injured
• District 10 – Ogden (Little Village, much of North Lawndale): 9 dead, 8 injured
• District 11 – Harrison (Garfield Park, parts of North Lawndale): 11 dead, 25 injured
• District 12 – Monroe (Near West Side): 1 dead, 2 injured
• District 13 – Wood (West Town, Ukrainian Village, parts of Humboldt Park): 3 dead, 1 injured
• District 14 – Shakespeare (Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, parts of Humboldt Park): 6 dead, 1 injured
• District 15 – Austin (North and South Austin): 6 dead, 8 injured
• District 16 – Jefferson Park (Far Northwest Side from Portage Park to O'Hare International Airport): 0 dead, 0 injured
• District 17 – Albany Park (Albany Park, Irving Park, Avondale): 2 dead, 0 injured
• District 18 – Near North (Lincoln Park, Gold Coast Magnificent Mile, Near North Side): 1 dead, 5 injured
• District 19 – Belmont (Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Lincoln Square, North Center): 1 dead, 1 injured
• District 20 – Lincoln (Edgewater, Andersonville, Rosehill Cemetery, Budlong Woods): 0 dead, 1 injured
• District 21 – Prairie (Hyde Park, Kenwood Oakland-Douglas, Lake Meadows, Chinatown): 2 dead, 2 injured
• District 22 – Morgan Park (Beverly, Morgan Park, Mt. Greenwood): 5 dead, 4 injured
• District 23 – Town Hall (East Lakeview, Uptown): 1 dead, 4 injured
• District 24 – Rogers Park (East and West Rogers Park): 2 dead, 2 injured
• District 25 – Grand Central (Belmont-Cragin, Kelvyn Park, Hermosa, Galewood): 8 dead, 10 injured

Adam Harrington, cbs2chicago.com