SAUGANASH — Despite the second gang-related shooting in as many months in Sauganash, the area remains among the safest in the city, Ald. Margaret Laurino (39th) said Monday.
"This is not gang territory," Laurino said.
A 22-year-old man was shot in his right arm around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. The man, who officials said was a documented gang member, told police he was driving on Pulaski Road near Devon Avenue when he "heard multiple gunshots and felt a pain in his right arm," Chicago Police officials said in a statement.
No one is in custody in connection with the incident. The man drove himself to the hospital, where he was listed in good condition.
The shooting on Sunday is similar to the shooting that occurred Feb. 17. In that incident, a 22-year-old man told police he was shot twice after he got into an argument while riding in a car on Peterson Avenue near Sauganash Avenue.
At the time, Laurino said police told her the men in the car were affiliated with a gang and were passing through Sauganash when the altercation occurred.
The February shooting was the first in a decade, according to data complied by DNAinfo Chicago.
Laurino, who has represented the 39th Ward since 1994, said she would renew her focus on public safety after winning re-election in 2015.
Laurino has said she was surprised by the number of residents who told her they no longer felt safe in their homes and neighborhoods, despite the fact that the 39th Ward is among the safest areas in the city based on crime statistics.
The number of people shot in Chicago rose 80 percent during the first three months of 2016 as compared with the first three months of 2015, records show. Between Jan. 1 and March 29, 142 people were murdered in Chicago. That's the highest since 1998 when 150 people were killed in the first three months.
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