Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer
Total Is About Double The Death Toll In Iraq
CHICAGO (CBS) ― An estimated 123 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.
In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 123 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.
According to the Defense Department, 65 soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.
In the same time period, an estimated 245 people were shot and wounded in the city.
Police department spokeswoman Monique Bond disputed the numbers, saying in an e-mail that sometimes shootings are re-classified as accidental. She said the CBS 2 analysis did not match official department statistics, but she did not provide details. CBS 2 has asked for that information.
"The department officially releases crime statistics on a monthly basis to ensure the proper investigations are thoroughly conducted to determine manner and motive which also may result in reclassifications, '' Bond said.
Violent crime reports available on the department's website do not break down shootings by month. However, the latest report shows that the murder in the city is up 18 percent from last year. From January-July, the department reports 291 people were murdered, compared with 246 for the same period in 2007.
The South Side's Englewood District, which includes the Englewood and West Englewood neighborhoods on the city's South Side, fared the worst over the summer. A total of 14 people were shot dead there, and 48 were shot and wounded.
The next highest totals came in the Grand Crossing District, which includes the South Shore, Woodlawn, Park Manor and Grand Crossing neighborhoods on the South Side, 12 people were killed and 31 were injured.
Also hit severely by gun violence over the summer was the Ogden District – which includes the Near Southwest Side's Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods – where 10 people were killed and six were injured.
The South Chicago District on the Southeast Side saw nine people killed and 11 injured, almost all concentrated in the South Chicago and Avalon Park neighborhoods at the north end of the district.
The West Side's Austin District saw also saw nine people killed and 12 injured, while the Far South Side's Calumet District – including the Roseland, Fernwood and Pullman neighborhoods – saw eight killed and 20 injured.
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