Chicago police recorded another 25 shootings, including four murders, over the past weekend alone, as the city’s police superintendent and others testified Monday before a Senate committee on gun violence.
From Friday at 6 p.m. to Sunday at 11:59 p.m., there were 25 shooting incidents involving 27 shooting victims. There were four murders reported to police during that time frame.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., instead of meeting in Washington, D.C., chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee in Chicago Monday dedicated to “Combating Gun Trafficking and Reducing Violence.”
Among those to testify was Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, who said more than 700 people have been murdered so far this year in Chicago. Chicago police remain on pace to recover over 12,000 guns this year – the most ever recovered in the history of the Chicago Police Department, Brown said.
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Brown named several gun violence victims, including 4-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr., who was shot and killed while getting a haircut, 6-year-old Jaslyn Adams, who was killed at a fast-food restaurant, and Chicago police officer Ella French, who was shot and killed while apprehending a suspect for illegally possessing a firearm.
The superintendent noted that the firearm used to kill French was obtained illegally through a straw purchase. If convicted, that straw-purchaser faces no minimum sentence, Brown said.
Durbin acknowledged that over 4,000 Chicagoans have been shot this year. In Cook County, there have been more than 1,000 homicides this year.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown responds to a question about the Memorial Day weekend violence during a news conference Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Chicago.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
In June, the Biden administration established a Department of Justice Firearms Trafficking Strike Force in Chicago under the leadership of U.S. Attorney John Lausch.
The hearing also included testimony from Kristen de Tineo, special agent in charge of the ATF Chicago Field Division, Dr. Debra Houry, CDC acting principal deputy director, Roseanna Ander, founding executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab, and Amy Swearer, a Heritage Foundation legal fellow.
Homicide victims this weekend included a 40-year-old man found at about 3:37 p.m. Sunday near the gangway of a residence in the 4th District with several gunshot wounds to the body. He was pronounced dead on scene and no offenders were taken into custody as detectives continue to investigate.
On Saturday, a male victim was struck in the head by two males who were armed with blunt objects. He was transported to Christ Hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead. Another homicide happened in the 300 block of W 119th St. involving a 44-year-old man who sustained a gunshot wound to the back. The victim was sitting in a vehicle when two unknown males approached, pulled his passenger side door handle, and one offender shot into the vehicle striking the victim.
Both offenders fled, and no one was immediately taken into custody. The victim was transported to Christ Hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries.
The first homicide of the weekend happened in the 14th District around 3:25 a.m. Saturday, when a 26-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the head while standing on the porch of a friend’s home.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The victim was discovered by his friend who heard the sound of gunfire, police said. The victim was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Among the non-fatal shootings on Sunday alone, a 44-year-old man was walking in the 22nd District when an unidentified Black male suspect fired shots and struck him in a leg.
A 31-year-old man was driving in the 17th District when an unknown occupant in a passing black SUV fired, striking him in the abdomen and an arm.
A 27-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body at a gas station in the 10th District around 9:15 a.m. when two unknown offenders approached him and fired multiple times, police said. Another male victim, age 47, was driving in the 11th District when someone pulled up in a dark-colored sedan and began firing in his direction. He sustained gunshot wounds to the left shoulder and neck.
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Also in the 3rd District Sunday, a 29-year-old man was walking outside around 1:07 a.m. when he heard several shots, felt pain, and realized he had been struck in a leg. He was transported to the hospital, with no one in custody for the crime.