CHICAGO — This September was a 19 percent drop in shootings compared to last year — but violence in the city remains worse than it has been in recent years.
September saw at least 259 shootings that left 320 people dead or wounded, according to DNAinfo analysis. Last year — during the most violent years in Chicago's recent history — there were 291 shootings with 350 victims in September.
Of those victims, at least 56 people were slain in shootings this month; last year, 58 people were shot dead in September.
Despite the drop in shootings this September, 2017 remains one of the more violent years in recent memory. So far, there have been 2,212 shootings that killed or wounded 2,784 people, according to DNAinfo analysis.
In all, at least 523 people have been killed so far this year.
Police have repeatedly said the department's increased use of technology has helped them in preventing violence.
The department has Strategic Decision Support Centers — which combine technology and analysis to help officers patrol and respond to crime — in in the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 15th districts, covering parts of the city that had experienced some of the worst violence in recent years.
Similar support centers will be installed in six more districts by the end of 2018, according to a Chicago Police news release.
"Between the technology in our most violent districts, between the additional officers that are hitting the streets, we're starting to see, basically, the fruits of our strategy," said Chicago Police spokesman Frank Giancamilli after August's drop in violence. "We can never predict, but we hope" the drop continues.
Here's a look at some of September's violence:
• On Sept. 6, 14-year-old Melvin James was shot to death on the first day of school.
• Five people were shot dead on Sept. 15, the deadliest day of the month.
• Maurice King, 21, told officers the name of the man who shot him as he lay dying after a shooting on Sept. 16, prosecutors said.
• On Sept. 30, three people were shot while going to a funeral in Auburn Gresham.
2017 Violence So Far:
• This January Had As Many Shootings, Murders As Violent January 2016
• Shootings, Murders Rise In Chicago In February
• Shootings, Murders See Major Drop For 1st Time In More Than A Year
• Shootings Down To Date, But April Saw Uptick In Murders
• May Sees Chicago Shootings Fall — But 2017 Still More Violent Than Usual
• Even As Shootings Fall, Murders Remain High: 335 People Killed In 2017
• Chicago On Pace To Have Even More Murders Than In 2016 After Bloody July
• Chicago’s Violent Streak Finally Slowing? August Sees Big Dip In Shootings
