Thread: 5 killed, 25 wounded in weekend shootings

5 killed, 25 wounded in weekend shootings


Chicago police investigate a fatal shooting in Lakeview neighborhood early May 30, 2015.
(Alexandra Chachkevitch, Chicago Tribune)

By Quinn Ford Chicago Tribune contact the reporter

Five people were killed, including three on Sunday, and at least 25 others were wounded by gunfire across the city over the weekend.

And a stabbing inside a Pilsen bar early Saturday left another person dead, police said.

By comparison, according to a Chicago Tribune database on city shootings, on the last weekend of May 2014 (May 30-June 1), there were 36 shootings, including nine fatal shootings. A year earlier on the last weekend of May 2013 (May 31-June 2), 17 people were shot, three fatally.

The two most recent fatal shootings were two men killed minutes apart and just blocks from each other on the West Side on Sunday night.

In the South Austin neighborhood, a 27-year-old man was fatally shot about 7:13 p.m. in the 100 block of North Cicero Avenue, Chicago Police Department spokesman Officer Hector Alfaro said. The man was walking on the sidewalk when several people approached and opened fire, hitting him, police said.

The man was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Minutes earlier, at about 7:10 p.m. Sunday, a 53-year-old man was found shot blocks away in the same neighborhood. Shots were heard in the area of 4900 West Lake Street, and the man was discovered with gunshot wounds to the back and buttocks, Alfaro said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead there.

At about 12:15 p.m. Sunday, a 25-year-old man was fatally shot in the 8700 block of South Wabash Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood, police spokeswoman Officer Janel Sedevic said.

He was walking on the street when a white van pulled up and someone inside fired shots, striking him three times in the torso. He was initially taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital but was later pronounced dead, police said.

None of the three men killed Sunday had been identified as of early Monday morning.

Early Saturday morning, a Palos Park man was shot to death during a struggle following a robbery in Lakeview on the North Side.

Authorities said Kevin O'Malley, 25, was fatally shot about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 900 block of West Oakdale Avenue.

O'Malley had chased down a 22-year-old man who had robbed him of cash and his cellphone and began fighting with the man when the man pulled out a silver revolver and shot O'Malley twice in the chest.

O'Malley died on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The alleged gunman, later identified as Kristopher Pitts of the Humboldt Park neighborhood, then fled, climbed onto a nearby roof and jumped to a nearby CTA Brown Line platform.

Pitts was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

He was ordered held without bail in court Sunday afternoon.
Just before midnight Friday, a 24-year-old man was gunned down as he was walking with his wife in the Little Village neighborhood.

The man, identified as Jose L. Velasquez, was walking in the 2100 block of South Fairfield Avenue when two or three people emerged from a nearby gangway yelling and fired shots, according to police.

Velasquez was shot in the back and was pronounced dead less than two hours later. Family members said Velasquez, a truck driver, had met his wife to eat and was headed to their home in the 2800 block of West 21st Street when he was shot.

Police believe the shooting to be gang-related, though Velasquez's family denied he had gang affiliation.

Also over the weekend, a well-known member of the Pilsen community was fatally stabbed inside a neighborhood bar early Saturday morning.

Rudy Avina, 43, was stabbed to death in Simone's bar, 960 W. 18th St., according to authorities.

Police arrested Ulises Almaraz, 29, of west suburban Berwyn, and Cook County prosecutors later said Almaraz is a diagnosed schizophrenic who had recently stopped taking his medication. Almaraz appeared in court Sunday on first-degree murder charges; he was ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors said Almaraz came to the bar with a female friend, who talked to Avina after running into him there, and Almaraz allegedly stabbed Avina in the throat, later saying he did it because Avina was talking to his girl.

In addition to the six people killed, at least 25 people were wounded by gunfire from about 4 p.m. Friday through 11:45 p.m. Sunday.

Also over the weekend, authorities said an off-duty Cook County correctional officer shot an armed man while the gunman was robbing someone in East Garfield Park late Sunday. The alleged gunman was shot in his right leg following an exchange of gunfire. The man, whose age was not immediately available, fled and drove himself to Stroger Hospital, where he was later taken into custody. Charges were pending as of Monday morning, police said.

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