Chicago sees 52 people shot over Memorial Day weekend. Fewer shot then last year but more died.

Chicago sees 52 people shot over Memorial Day weekend

Brandon Morse  May 30, 2017 5:53 pm

This year's Memorial Day weekend in Chicago saw 52 people shot, resulting in seven dead. (Getty Images) 

The Windy City saw 52 people shot over the course of the Memorial Day weekend, resulting in seven dead and 45 wounded according to the Chicago Tribune. The number is actually down from year ago when 62 people were shot — six fatally — over the same weekend.

To combat the violence this year, Chicago police deployed 1,300 extra patrol officers over the weekend through early Tuesday.

Those shot fatally this year include a 15-year-old boy killed about 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Lawndale during a neighborhood drive-by shooting, which also wounded a 16-year-old girl.

An unnamed 18-year-old man was shot in the head an hour earlier at 5:40 p.m. on Sunday. Police pronounced him dead on the scene and said witnesses described an unknown man who fired multiple shots at the victim.

An unidentified 17-year-old boy was shot in the head by an unknown male assailant around 9:50 p.m. on Sunday. A second 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, both unidentified, were shot as well. The two victims have been stabilized and are expected to survive.

Oscar Clay, 52, was killed in a domestic-related shooting at 1:32 p.m. on Sunday after he got into an argument with an unidentified 27-year-old man who pulled out a handgun and shot Clay. Police have still not captured the shooter.

Tiara Goodman, 25, and an unidentified 32-year-old man were found around 10:50 a.m. on Sunday. Police said both Goodman and the man were shot in the head with a gun found on the scene, leading police to believe the deaths were a result of a murder-suicide. It was not clear which of the two was the alleged killer.

At 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, an unidentified 21-year-old man was shot multiple times while he was sitting in his vehicle, hitting his back and heart. He was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Chicago Tribune reported that despite the violence occurring all over the city, Chicago’s Harrison District on the West Side, one of the city’s most violent police districts, saw zero shootings occur. This was a stark difference from last Memorial Day weekend when 21 people were shot.

First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro told the Tribune that the lack of violence was a result of police proactivity and the placement of officers “in all the areas that we knew we should have them.” He also credited officers with talking to people on the streets instead of just responding to crimes over the radio.

“I think the officers are out there doing a great job, also doing proactive stuff and interacting with the community, that’s a big thing,” Navarro said.

Chicago is often hailed as one of the U.S.’s most violent cities, with 762 homicides in 2016 alone.