UPTOWN — After the shooting deaths of two longtime friends in Uptown earlier this month, police will launch an "intensified effort" around a neighborhood hotspot, said Ald. Harry Osterman (48th).
With that double homicide, five people have now been shot within a two-block radius of Argyle Street since July 31. They're all tied to an internal gang struggle — and the alderman has been working with the mayor and the city's police superintendent to stop the bloodshed.
The alderman said Chicago Police "will be directing an intensified effort targeted against gang activity in the area around Argyle, which will include gang saturation teams and tactical teams and the assignment of a beat car dedicated to Argyle and Winthrop."
The 48th Ward will also host a public safety walk in the area.
The walk, which will be conducted with Foster District Cmdr. Cornelia Lott, will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday around the Argyle Street area. The walk will begin at a satellite ward office at 1022 W. Argyle St., which will "remain open for the next few months as we work with the residents, police, business owners and organizations to improve safety in this area," Osterman said.
Josh McGhee says internal gang violence is tougher to predict:
Around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, officers found the two men unresponsive in the 5000 block of North Winthrop Avenue after they were shot multiple times. One of the men, 32, was pronounced dead on scene. The other, age 34, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead, according to Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman.
Michael Laster, 28, of the 6100 block of North Seeley Avenue, and Jonathon Thompson, 33, of the 5400 block of North Kenmore Avenue, were identified by police as the shooters in the incident. They have both been charged with first-degree murder, police said. Laster and Thompson have been involved in criminal gang activity in the area before, Osterman said.
The double homicide was the fourth and fifth shooting around Argyle Street since July 31, all of which are reportedly connected to an internal gang conflict. After a 24-year-old man was shot in the 800 block of West Agatite Avenue around 4 a.m. Aug. 7, "the 20th District assigned a beat car 24 hours a day at Argyle and Kenmore and increased patrols in this area," Osterman said in a weekly update posted on his site.
"This deployment was insufficient and failed to prevent the homicides that occurred [Sept. 2]. I have had conversations this week with Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel and Superintendent [Garry] McCarthy about the ongoing violence in this part of our community and strategies for addressing it," Osterman said.
In July, Uptown reached its highest number of homicides in nearly five years, with seven.
At that time, the neighborhood had a total of 13 shootings, compared to a total of 15 shootings last year. Since July, there has been five shootings including the double homicide, bringing the 2015 total of shootings to 20.
There were 16 shootings in 2013, 19 in 2012, 32 in 2011 and 25 in 2010, according to the data.
Gang infighting and taunting over social media has to led to increased violence on the entire North Side, according to Town Hall police officers.
"In recent years and throughout this summer, our collective efforts have improved safety in many parts of our community," Osterman wrote. "But the Argyle area still faces drug and gang activity."
Osterman said his "priority will be working with the Chicago Police and other stakeholders to attack these problems from many fronts until the gang and drug activity has ceased and the safety is where it needs to be for those who live, work and go to school in this part of our community."
This map shows every shooting in the neighborhood in 2015:
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