In Gun-Controlled Chicago, Four Shot In A Four-Hour Period

The Federalist Papers – by Robert Gehl

More murder and mayhem in the Gun Control capital of the United States as four teenagers were shot over a four-hour period, including a 16-year-old who died.

At the same time, and unbelievably, lawmakers are now balking at increasing penalties for gun crimes.

Chicago police report the youngest victim was shot in the head in the South Shore neighborhood around 9:20 p.m. local time. He was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  

Officers had responded to a call of gunfire at the home and found the boy lying outside on the ground, they said.

Later, on the West Side, two boys, 14 and 17-years-old were shot around 1:15 p.m. Thursday in the Little Village neighborhood. Police said the weapon appeared to be a rifle.

The boys were on a corner in a truck when another vehicle pulled up beside them and someone opened fire. The older teenager was shot in the back and the younger teenager was shot in the foot. They were both transported to the hospital where they are in stable condition.

Rifle shell casings were found in the intersection where the shooting took place.

Between those two shootings, and again on the West Side, a 14-year-old boy was seriously wounded in the South Austin neighborhood, the Chicago Tribune reports.

He was walking on North Lockwood Avenue when someone opened fire, hitting him in the chest. He was taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital.

Earlier that evening, a police officer shot and seriously wounded a man in a stolen car after he pinned the officer against another car. The officer was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken leg.

But there were more – there are always more. The Chicago Tribune story bullet-points all the shootings that happened in the last 24 hours. It’s horrific. How resident don’t become numb to this carnage is amazing. Maybe they already are:

• • Around 11:05 p.m. on the West Side, a 42-year-old man was shot in the leg following an argument with another man in the Lawndale neighborhood, police said.
  • About 10 p.m. on the West Side, a 27-year-old man was shot in the Little Village neighborhood, police said.
  • About 5:40 p.m. on the Northwest Side, an 18-year-old man was shot in the back while driving in the 4000 block of West Palmer Street in the Hermosa neighborhood, police said.
  • About 1:15 p.m. on the Southwest Side, a 37-year-old man was shot in the 6000 block of South Fairfield Avenue in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
  • About 12:55 p.m. on the South Side, a 41-year-old man was shot in the leg in the South Shore neighborhood in the 2900 block of East 79th Street.
  • About 12:50 p.m. on the Southwest Side, a 25-year-old man was critically wounded in the Gage Park neighborhood in the 2600 block of West 54th Street, police said.

Meanwhile, African American lawmakers in Chicago are reluctant to support a measure that would crack down on repeat gun offenders, fearing it would land more minorities in jail without “addressing the underlying causes of violence.”

And so it goes…

The Federalist Papers