Less than halfway into January of 2016, there have been more than a dozen homicides and at least 80 total shootings across Chicago.
One of the most recent shootings took place Friday night about a half mile away from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home in the city’s Ravenswood neighborhood.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., a 25-year-old man was killed in a shooting at an apartment in the 1900 block of West Belle Plaine, according to police. The man’s identity has not yet been released.
One witness said she saw responding officers holding what appeared to be assault rifles. “We kind of said tongue-in-cheek like ‘should we get behind a car and duck for cover,’” said Shannon Condon.
A 23-year-old and another 25-year-old were also wounded in the same shooting and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, according to investigators. As of Saturday afternoon, no one was in custody.
Just over an hour later, another shooting left one man dead and four others wounded.
At about 8:45 p.m. in the 1500 block of South Kedzie in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, five men, all in their 20’s, were standing outside when shots were fired.
One of the men, 29-year-old Raymon Blount, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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The conditions of the four other men were stabilized, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Police believe the shooting was gang-related.
Police reported a total of 16 homicides just nine days into the new year. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7, there were 12 homicides and 62 shootings, including homicides, according to police.
On Friday, Jan. 8, there were a total of four homicides, according to investigators. Police did not give an exact total on overall shootings, but estimated a total to be approximately 18.
In comparison to January of 2015, there was nearly a murder per day. Chicago saw 28 murders in total, according to police.
Still, the shooting death totals for this month and January of 2015 pale in comparison to January of 2013, where the total number of shooting deaths reached 40, according to police.
The large number of recent shootings prompted a news conference Saturday put together by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a "voter crusade," calling for residents to put pressure on the mayor to do more, especially when it comes to police-involved shootings.
"The killing season continues," said Jackson. "We seek a non-violent alternative to this season of violence."
Over the past week, a national spotlight was cast on crime in Chicago. President Barack Obama spoke about gun violence plaguing the city during two publicized events.
On Tuesday, the president gave an emotional speech on gun control while talking about the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting from three years ago. "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "And, by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day."
Later that week during a Town Hall meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, President Barack Obama also spoke to a teenager whose brother was killed in a shooting in Chicago.
“When I see you I think about my own youth, because I wasn’t that different as you,” said the president. “But the main difference was I lived in a more forgiving environment. If I screwed up, I wasn’t at risk of getting shot. I’d get a second chance. There were a bunch of folks who were looking out for me and there weren’t a lot of guns on the streets. And that’s how all kids should be growing up, wherever they live.”
