46 People Wounded, 4 Killed in Thanksgiving Weekend Shootings in Chicago: Police

Chicago police work at the scene in a file photo. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

At least 46 people were shot in Chicago over the Thanksgiving weekend, leading to four deaths, said officials in a Monday morning update.

Chicago Police told CBS Chicago on Monday that in the first homicide of the holiday weekend, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed while waiting for a rideshare vehicle in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood. The boy was hit in the chest, left shoulder, and right shoulder and was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County, where he was pronounced dead.

The next fatality occurred on Friday at 10:53 p.m. when a 27-year-old man was shot and killed while standing on a sidewalk on South Parnell, officials told local media. The unnamed victim was transported to Christ Hospital by the Chicago Fire Department in critical condition and was later pronounced dead, according to officials.

On Saturday, a 25-year-old woman was shot and killed in the Gresham neighborhood, police told local media. Police said someone fired shots through the window, striking her in the chest. Later, the unnamed woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

And on Saturday, a man was found shot in a viaduct in Stony Island Park. The victim, believed to be between the ages of 18 and 35, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

According to a website that compiles shooting and homicide reports in Chicago, the city has seen more than 785 murders and nearly 3,500 shootings so far in 2021. About 735 homicides and 3,200 shootings were reported in 2020, whereas 481 homicides and 2,112 shootings were reported in 2019, according to the website.

The weekend violence came several days after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s violence reduction czar—a position known officially as the “Director of Violence Reduction”—resigned. It’s not clear why Norman Kerr resigned, but the City of Chicago said it was on good terms.

Lightfoot, a Democrat, is “incredibly grateful” to Kerr for his “steadfast leadership and commitment to reducing violence in our city, both during his time with the City, and beyond,” the City of Chicago said in a statement to the Sun-Times.

“The work of the Office of Violence Prevention continues as part of the Community Safety Coordination Center,” the city said in a statement. “Norm has continued to be a close partner of the Mayor’s Office since his amicable departure, and Mayor Lightfoot wishes him all the best as he expands his impact beyond Chicago.”