Coming off a September that was Chicago’s most violent month in over a decade, the past weekend’s toll of violence has pushed the Windy City’s number of murders to over 400 thus far this year.
September’s violence yielded 59 murders and 362 gunshot victims, marking the Democratic-run city’s deadliest month since 2002, according to analysis by The Chicago Tribune.
September also witnessed a gruesome murder of a baby when the child’s head was found floating in a lagoon in a city park.
As the Tribune reports, with October well underway, “at least 2,434 people have been shot in the city. That’s 347 more than during the same period last year and 583 more than in 2013.” The paper goes on to report that 404 people have been shot and killed thus far this year, 55 more than during the same period in 2013.
The weekend’s most tragic shooting was the death of 3-year-old Eian Santiago, who was shot in the head by his 6-year-old brother while playing with his father’s handgun, which the former gang member bought illegally.
The total level of Chicago violence year to date has reached 2,447 total shot with 416 total homicides (all causes included).
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.