Chicago reached 59 murders and 362 gunshot victims in September, marking the Democratic-run city’s deadliest month since 2002, according to analysis by The Chicago Tribune.
The last month of summer featured more homicides than any other month this year, and more than any summer month since the prior decade.
According to the Tribune, September ended with two consecutive weekends during which more than 50 people were shot. There more than 40 shootings each weekend in August.
September ended on a deadly note not just for the city in general, but for one South Side family in particular.
On Sunday the 27th, a Chicago family was gunned down as they were returning home. One of the family members shot was an young boy, who was rushed to hospital by a Chicago cop, likely saving his life. But the boy’s grandmother and mother were killed at 7:30 PM, when the five family members were fired upon after arriving home that evening.
When officers arrived they found the severely injured boy and instead of waiting for an ambulance they made the snap decision to drive the child to the hospital on their own. “The officer saw a seriously injured 11-month-old child and made a decision to transport that child immediately to a hospital,” Chicago Deputy Chief Eugene Roy said. “He made the right call, and he is somebody we are very proud of.”
Police think that the targets were two men of the family who were both wounded in the drive by shooting. It is assumed the shooting was gang related.
Last Friday, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy laid out the CPD’s plans to attack illegal guns, including a new program that assigns a dedicated detective to gun cases who will track the “origin and flow” of the firearms involved.
“We are handling every single gun arrest as if it were a robbery or a burglary, with a detective response, and gathering of evidence, to ensure that we can do everything that we can to ensure that that case gets prosecuted to the fullest extent that we can,” the Superintendent said last.
Meanwhile, October’s toll of violence started off slower than either August or September. With only 12 shooting incidents and one killed, October came is with the lowest weekend totals for many months.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com