CHICAGO — A man was shot to death early Thursday in Chatham, police said.
Officers found the man unresponsive on the sidewalk in the 8000 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue just after 2 a.m. Police said he'd been shot in his head.
Jeromy Ellis, 34, of the 7600 block of South Drexel Avenue was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:22 a.m, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
No one was in custody.
As news of the shooting spread Thursday, few local residents seemed surprised.
"A lot of people get shot on that corner," said a 64-year-old man who's lived in Chatham his entire life. Like everyone interviewed, he did not want to be named, citing safety and privacy concerns.
Several residents said shootings were common along Cottage Grove, especially at night. Mostly, neighbors said, people shoot into the sky.
"It happens over here every day," said a man in his 30s. "It's Chicago. It's the Wild Wild West."
Residents weren't sure who the victim was early Thursday, but said homicides have become normal in the South Side neighborhood.
"I know it's not healthy, but it's the environment we live in," a 23-year-old man said. "Ever since I was little, people used to come and go, come and go. You get used to it after a while."
