I've lived in Chicago, just southeast of Skokie, and spent a lot of time visiting otherwise. It's the only real 'big' city I've spent extensive time in (Milwaukee really isn't on the same level), so I can't really compare it to others in terms of safety and crime. I lived on the near-north side and knew well enough to stay the hell out of the South Side and make sure to keep a steady speed through West side neighborhoods like Cicero, don't stop, and keep your windows up and doors locked.Police: 36 Shot, 2 Stabbed, 9 Dead Over Weekend
Daley: 'Know where your children are. It's going to be a long summer, and parents better capture this responsibility.'
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago police say 36 people were shot and two people were stabbed over the weekend; nine of those victims died. Authorities said that, although that is a large number of violent crimes for such a short time span, it is not unusual as the weather gets warmer.
Map Of The Shootings
Mayor Richard M. Daley said Monday that 13 of the victims were Chicago Public Schools students.
"What we're asking parents to do," Daley said, "is know where your children are. It's going to be a long summer, and parents better capture this responsibility."
Chicago police say that warmer weather means more opportunities for violent crime, so they are stepping up patrols and focusing their efforts on targeting gang leaders.
Gunfire hit neighborhoods from the north to the west to the south.
Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) represents the Austin neighborhood. Like the police, he believes one reason for the rash of violence this weekend is warmer weather. And because he fears a long and violent hot summer, he wants more police in his neighborhood and other hot spots.
"I don't want to see gang and tact in areas that don't have violence. Those teams should be redeployed in areas that have violence," Carothers said.
Police top brass agree, and say they've already assigned more officers to problem areas.
But they point out that the community needs to do its part by keeping juveniles off the street after curfew. Five of those shot were out after 11 p.m.
For the sake of the children, community activists encourage police to enforce the law.
"Hold those kids accountable," said Rev. Ira Acree of the South Austin Coaltion. "Get them off the streets. That would be a step in the right direction.
Curfew for teenagers 16 and under is 11 o'clock on the weekends, 10 o'clock Sunday through Thursday.
Parents of teenagers picked up for violating curfew can face a fine of $500.
Among those who were killed, Edward Black, 25, died after a gunman shot him in the chest as he stood with a friend in the 800 block of South Karlov at about 12:30 a.m. Monday.
About 7 p.m. Friday, Marcus Hendricks, 34, of Flossmoor, was fatally shot in the abdomen at 714 W. 115th St. and pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 8 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.
Bennie Teague, 39, of the 6200 block of South Sacramento Avenue, was charged with one count of first-degree murder for Hendricks' death. He was also charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly firing shots at responding officers. Police recovered an AK-47 assault rifle from the scene, police said.
About 9:30 p.m. Friday, two 18-year-old men were fatally shot at 7555 S. Phillips Ave., authorities said. Killed were Melvin Thomas, of 14922 Washington Ave. in Harvey, and Rhonell Savala, of 9750 S. Hoxie Ave., the medical examiner's office said. One of the men suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and back and the other was shot in the neck, police said.
About 10:50 p.m. Friday, Ricardo Sanchez, 65, of 8439 S. Exchange Ave., was found fatally shot outside his home after an attempted robbery, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center at 12:47 a.m. Saturday, the medical examiner's office said.
About 5:50 a.m. Saturday, Michael Giles, 26, of 336 N. Avers Ave., was fatally shot in his home, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 6:50 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital.
About 11:20 a.m. Saturday, Raul Lemus, 28, of 4630 S. Talman Ave., was fatally shot in the abdomen in an apparent gang-related shooting at an auto shop at 2520 W. 59th St., authorities said. He was pronounced dead at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 4:16 a.m. Sunday, the medical examiner's office said.
Late Sunday, Angel Ramirez, 26, and four other people were shot in a gang-related drive-by shooting on the 2800 block of West 21st Street. Ramirez, of 2714 W. 23rd St., was later pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Details on the ninth homicide of the weekend were not immediately available.
Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis says more officers have been deployed to the city's violent areas, but he says a lot of the violence involves young people, after curfew, and parents need to help stop them.
"You just have too many guns, gangs, too many weapons out here. That's why we have to work hard to take them off. Chicago has probably enjoyed the greatest success in taking weapons off the street," Weis said.
Police admit that three dozen shootings in one weekend is a lot, but through the end of March in Chicago, violent crime was down. On Friday, 15 people were shot -- four fatally -- between noon Friday and midnight Saturday, police said.
No one has been charged in any of the shootings except for the police involved incident, where Teague was charged with murder and attempted murder, police said early Monday.
Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond says at least 14 shootings were gang related. She says three other victims were innocent bystanders. The other shootings remain under investigations.
Detectives from all areas of the city, Harrison, Calumet, Wentworth and Grand Central are investigating the shootings and Belmont Area detectives probed the stabbings.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and Dorothy Tucker, and the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
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My own neighborhood was relatively peaceful, though it was right on the border between Jewish, Pakistani, and Mexican neighborhoods, so we had our fair share of both gang and religious violence to deal with. Even so, this seems like a really harsh amount of violence and death for a single weekend.
