40 People Shot, 6 Dead in Chicago Over Memorial Day Weekend: Police

Chicago police block traffic near State and Monroe streets after crowds of young people flooded the Loop after a fatal shooting in Millennial Park in Chicago, on May 14, 2022. (Tina Sfondeles/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

At least 40 people were shot and six were killed in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, said police on Monday afternoon.

The Chicago Police Department told local media that it had canceled its officers’ days off in anticipation of Memorial Day weekend, which historically is marred by outbursts of violence and shooting deaths in Chicago.

Compared with last year, there have been more shootings and deaths this Memorial Day weekend as of Monday morning, according to an analysis by the Sun-Times. Last year, 37 people in all were shot, including three deaths.

One of the victims, Jeremy Benson, 33, was shot and killed on Sunday morning while he was driving in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, officials said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. As he was driving, he was shot and crashed into a median before he was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Another male was shot and killed in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, officials told the paper. The shooting occurred at a birthday party and sent people running into the street. Later, officials confirmed a 24-year-old had died.

“They won’t even let me see his body,” the man’s mother said. Neither the mother nor the man were identified by the Sun-Times. “They could at least let me hold his hand,” she told the outlet.

Later on Sunday, a male was killed and four others were injured during a domestic dispute in Chicago’s Humboldt Park. The incident led to a standoff with Chicago’s SWAT team. The gunman, 23, was arrested about an hour later, officials said.

In another apparent mass shooting incident, five people were seriously wounded after a fight broke out early Sunday morning in the Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. Five people aged 16 to 33 were on a sidewalk on South Karlov Avenue at around 1:30 a.m. when a fight broke out and a shooting ensued, police told local media outlets.

A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, a male and a female—both aged 21—were shot in the arms, a 21-year-old man was shot in the left side of the body, and a 33-year-old male was shot in the face. No suspects have been arrested.

On Saturday, two males were killed after they opened fire in Englewood at around 5 p.m. on South Bishop Street, police said. After they shot each other, both males were transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. One of the shooters was identified as 29-year-old Derrick Washington, authorities said.

Another person was shot and killed on the South Side on Saturday at around 1:30 p.m. on West 63rd Street, according to police. The man’s age and identity were not provided, and no suspect has been taken into custody, police said.