4 Dead, 19 Wounded in Chicago Shootings Over Thanksgiving: Reports

Police investigate the scene of a shooting near the Chinatown neighborhood where four people were shot in an apparent road rage incident on Sept. 19, 2018, in Chicago, Ill. A 6-month-old infant boy and a 13-year-old girl were among the victims. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Shootings across Chicago have left four dead and 19 others injured over the Thanksgiving weekend, including a teenage boy who was shot during an armed robbery on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, in the Thanksgiving Day incident, an off-duty officer was sitting in his personal vehicle when two teenagers approached him. Chicago Police Deputy Chief Al Nagode said a 16-year-old pointed a gun at the officer, and he handed over his belongings.

The second boy, a 17-year-old patted the officer down and found another wallet that contained his Chicago Police Department badge, Nagode said. The other teen then pointed his gun at the officer, who was not named, and told him to not move.

Somehow, the officer shot the 16-year-old, and the other teen ran away with the officer’s belongings, the paper reported.

Police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing after a mass shooting during a Madden Championship Series competition at the Good Luck Have Fun video game bar inside Chicago Pizza at The Jacksonville Landing. (AP Photo/Will Dickey/Florida Times-Union)

The shot teen was sent to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, and was pronounced dead right after he arrived. The teen was identified as Sarge Junior, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office stated.

The other teen was arrested and was charged with armed robbery and other charges, said police.

The latest deadly shooting in Chicago occurred on Nov. 25 on the West Side, the report said. A man in his 20s was found dead in the 3600 block of West Lexington. Officials said he was shot in the chest, but other details are not clear.

A man was shot dead and another wounded on the day after Thanksgiving in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side, said the report. They were sitting in a vehicle when a white Porsche SUV drove by them and someone inside opened fire, hitting both.

The Chicago Tribune notes that 2,693 people have been shot in Chicago in 2018, which is about 633 fewer shootings than in 2017. There have also been 508 homicides in Chicago in 2018, according to the Sun-Times’ data.

Violent Crime Down in 2017

In September 2018, the FBI said Americans committed fewer violent and property crimes in 2017, according to statistics. The violent crime rate—including offenses such as murder, robbery, and aggravated assault—dropped by almost one percent and is still about 4 percent above the 2014 rate. The murder rate dropped by 0.7 percent.

“After historic increases in violent crime in 2015 and 2016, we are beginning to see encouraging signs,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement at the time. “But our work is not done. While we have made progress, violent crime and drug trafficking continue to plague our communities and destroy the lives of innocent, law-abiding Americans.”

Of the estimated 17,284 murders in 2017, more than half occurred in larger cities—with populations of more than 100,000.

There are fewer than 300 such cities in the United States, and while they account for less than 30 percent of the country’s population, many of them contribute far beyond their share to national crime rates and have done so for years, even decades.

Reuters contributed to this report