42 Wounded, 6 Dead in Chicago

Even for a city used to high crime and violence, with 42 wounded and six dead, the toll of violence was high in Chicago over the last three days.

Last week started on a foul note, with the murder of a 25-year veteran civilian employee of the Chicago Police Department.

On Wednesday evening, 59-year-old John Buckner was shot outside his home, as he and his wife unloaded groceries from their car. The shooters were reported as a trio of teens riding by on bicycles.

CPD First Deputy Superintendent Al Wysinger called the murder a “senseless” shooting of a man “always willing to lend a helping hand.”

“(He was) always smiling, always happy, always willing to lend a helping hand, and not only in his professional life, even in his personal life. Always being there in the church, just up-lifting.” Wysinger added.

Chicago police said that the shooting was gang-related but that Buckner was not an intended target.

The weekend following the death of Mr. Buckner proved to be bloody, indeed, with 46 wounded and 6 killed, including a 14-year-old boy.

During Friday’s bloodletting, 11 were shot but no one killed. Saturday, however, was a different matter.

Saturday dawned with seven shootings before 8 a.m. By the end of the day, 17 had been shot and three killed, one killed by a stabbing.

A 14-year-old boy was also murdered on Saturday, shot in the head during an argument in the North Kenwood neighborhood.

By Sunday, the toll grew to 19 more incidents with three deaths. Half a dozen of those were from the same incident involving a drive-by shooting and then a car accident, which occurred as innocent bystanders sped off to get away from the gunfire.

The car accident occurred on the city’s South Side at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

Six people were standing on the sidewalk when a car drove by with its occupants spraying bullets. One man was killed and three others wounded by the gunfire.

But the shooting had another consequence; a vehicle with six women in it overturned as the driver attempted to flee the area. Three of the women were listed in serious-to-critical condition by Sunday afternoon.

September has already been particularly brutal in the Windy City. During the first half of the month, a 91% year-over-year increase in shootings and murders has been recorded.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.