CHICAGO — There were 40 percent fewer shootings in October compared to the same month last year, according to Chicago Police statistics.
In all, there were 127 shootings in which at least one victim was wounded last month compared with 210 the same period last year.
Through the first 10 months of the year, there have been 354 murders within city limits. In 2012, 443 people were murdered from Jan. 1 through Halloween, based on Chicago Police statistics.
"While there has been less crime, fewer shootings and fewer murders in Chicago this year, there's certainly more work to be done and no one will rest until we reach the ultimate goal of zero crime," Supt. Garry McCarthy said in a statement released with October's statistics.
"To reduce violence for the long-term our state and our country need better laws to keep illegal guns out of our communities and punish the criminals who carry them."
McCarthy has pushed for stricter gun laws throughout his tenure in Chicago.
Of the 1,599 shootings that occurred in the city through Oct. 31 this year, at least 108 of them involved a suspect or a victim who would've been behind bars if the city had tougher sentencing for gun crimes, McCarthy has said, citing police data.
Both shootings and the number of shooting victims were down 24 percent through the first 10 months of this year compared to last year.
Overall crime is down 15 percent compared to the same period last year, according to police.
Despite those statistics, some Chicago residents have been skeptical of whether their neighborhoods are becoming safer. Town Hall Police Cmdr. Elias Voulgaris, whose district includes Lakeview, has opted not to cite statistics at community meeting.
"No one believes the stats," he said at an October meeting. "The biggest barometer is feedback."
In October, 33 people were murdered in the city, three fewer than the year before. Some of the victims include:
• Louis Wherry, a father from South Austin killed while "protecting his son" from a bully, according to his family.
• Jasmin Salas, whose baby's father is accused of stabbing her to death before disposing the body in a wooden area in the suburbs.
• William Aikens, a father of a two-week-old baby shot to death in Roseland along with 22-year-old Martellis Griffis.
Citywide crime statistics from Chicago Police Department:
October murders
2011: 44
2012: 36
2013: 33
October shootings (at least one person wounded)
2011: 232
2012: 210
2013: 127
Shootings (1/1-10/31)
2011: 1,939
2012: 2,099
2013: 1,599
Shooting victims (1/1-10/31)
2011: 2,394
2012: 2,651
2013: 2,029
Murders (1/1-10/31)
2011: 361
2012: 443
2013: 354
