PULLMAN — Shootings from late Friday into Sunday night left five people dead and more wounded across the city.
Chicago Police spokesman Adam Collins pointed out there were fewer non-fatal shootings this weekend compared with last year. There were 16 shootings during this weekend compared with 21 during the same time last year.
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy likewise cited progress in his weekly Monday briefing, held this week in the Calumet District, where he said murders are down 36 percent and shootings down 32 percent year to date. That's seven fewer murders and 32 fewer shootings.
"It's not one thing. It's everything that we do," McCarthy said, pointing to gang strategies, a holistic approach to narcotics enforcement and community policing. Yet he also drew attention to improved community relations.
"There is a sense in the City of Chicago that the community has had enough of the violence," McCarthy said. "People are joining with us on a different level.
"People are talking to us," McCarthy added. "We're getting tips."
McCarthy said that contributed to a homicide clearance rate that has risen to better than three-quarters after being below half last year. McCarthy also credited more detectives dealing with fewer murders citywide.
Calumet District Cmdr. Patricia Walsh said community involvement has been strong in her district.
"We've got some really strong community groups in Roseland," Walsh said. "They're united in their cause and in their support for the Police Department."
"While there has been much less violence and crime in Chicago this year as the result of our partnership with the community and our comprehensive policing strategy, there's certainly more work to be done and no one will rest until everyone in the city enjoys the same sense of safety," Collins said in a statement.
The most recent shooting left one man dead and another injured Sunday night on the West Side.
About 11:05 p.m., Ernest Carter and a woman were both shot in a parked car in the 4000 block of West Cullerton Street in North Lawndale, authorities said.
Two men approached and fired into the vehicle, hitting Carter, 35, along with a 37-year-old woman. Carter was shot in his neck taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. The woman was shot in her back and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition, police said.
Earlier, about 4 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot dead in the 1600 block of West Jonquil Terrace in Rogers Park, police said. He was later identified by the medical examiner's office as Blake Lamb, of the 7600 block of North Bosworth Avenue.
Near the Far North Side shooting, a resident who heard the shots from her apartment said the area has its problems with violence, mainly in the summertime.
"The hotter, the more violent it gets," said Kristine Weaver, 38. "It makes me angry and sad."
Earlier Sunday, a 16-year-old boy was killed and a man was injured in a shooting on the Far South Side.
Joseph Brewer Jr. was in the 10500 block of South Oglesby Avenue in South Deering about 2:50 p.m. when he was shot in his back, authorities said. He was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead at 3:39 p.m. A 28-year-old man was shot in his hand in a car and treated at a local hospital, police said.
Early Saturday, Fernando Sanchez, 25, of the 3700 block of West LeMoyne Street in Humboldt Park, was standing on a sidewalk near his home when someone approached from an alley and began firing, police said.
Sanchez was hit in his abdomen and taken to Stroger Hospital, police said. He was pronounced dead at 3:36 a.m., according to the medical examiner's office.
On Friday night, Jeremy Morris, 25, was sitting in a car in the 6800 block of South Paxton Avenue in South Shore when two men approached while firing shots, authorities said. Morris, of the 5000 block of South Chaplain Avenue, was pronounced dead on the scene at 10:30 p.m.
At least 10 others were injured in shootings from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon, and at least two were hurt in shootings Friday night, authorities said.
