UPTOWN — Uptown didn't escape the city's bloody start to 2016 — a far cry from last January.
Uptown saw four shootings last month, including two people who were shot within 12 hours of each other last week. In 2015, Uptown's first shooting wasn't until Feb. 21, according to data compiled by DNAinfo Chicago.
Citywide, there have been 292 shootings and at least 51 murders this year. The Chicago Police Department reported 136 shooting victims last year — including 29 murders — in January.
None of the shootings in Uptown were fatal last month.
At 5 a.m. Thursday, a 37-year-old man was driving in the 900 block of West Winona Street when two men approached him and shot at him. The man was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center and listed in serious condition after being struck in his chest, arm and hand, police said.
Jackie Michaels, who has lived in the area for about four years, said she slept through the shooting Thursday morning, but wasn't surprised to hear about the incident so close to her home.
"I will hear a gunshot every now and then from my apartment on the seventh floor ... in the distance, but loud enough to know what it is. It's scary, but I think it's part of living here in the city. I don't ever want people to get hurt," she said. "It's crazy when you hear things like that because it is like I walk there all the time."
Two people were being questioned in connection to the shooting Friday, Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) said in his weekly newsletter. The two alleged gang members appeared in court Sunday "in connection with the shooting of one of their own gang members," according to the Tribune.
Royale Newell and William Grant, who are both members of the Black P-Stone gang, were both charged with aggravated battery and discharge of a firearm. Newell flagged down the victim, who rolled down his window to have a conversation before Grant walked up to the car and shot the victim three to four times, police said. The victim identified the two from a photo array.
Newell, 27, of the 1000 block of West Hollywood Avenue, was held on $75,000 bond. Grant, 26, of the 4100 block of North Kenmore Avenue, was held on $950,000 bond, the Tribune reports.
Hours before Thursday's shooting, at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, a 23-year-old man was shot while walking in the 900 block of West Agatite Avenue, police said.
Around 3 p.m. on Jan. 17, a 66-year-old woman was also shot in the 1000 block of W. Wilson Ave. She was taken to Weiss Hospital, where her condition stabilized. And on Jan. 1, a 19-year-old woman was shot in her thigh in the 4800 block of North Lake Shore Drive around 3:05 p.m., police said.
Police couldn't confirm an account of another shooting reported by Uptown Update.
A reader said that around 1:15 p.m. on Jan. 23, someone fired shots at a man standing near a bus stop near Clarendon Avenue and Wilson Avenue.
"An officer heard the shots from where she was, nearby, and got there in time to see the intended target chasing the car that shot at him. Fortunately, the police caught him and found the gun," the Update's account said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
