Virus Doesn't Seem to Affect Total Shooting Numbers in Chicago: At Least 1 Dead, 9 Others Wounded in Weekend Shootings

Nick Kangadis | March 23, 2020
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Even a “stay-at-home” order from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker couldn’t stop the shootings in Chicago over the weekend. As a matter of fact, the first shooting after the order was put into effect at 5 p.m. this past Saturday was the weekend’s only fatal one.

At least one person was killed and nine more were wounded in shootings across the Chicagoland area over the weekend. This is down from the previous weekend, which didn’t have a “stay-at-home” restriction, where at least one person was murdered and another 17 were wounded.

A 38-year-old man was the lone fatality this past weekend, but the Cook County medical examiner’s office didn’t release details about the man and his death.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert about 12:50 a.m. in the 3100 block of South Benson Street and found the man unresponsive, Chicago police said. He had gunshot wounds to the head, torso, hand and back and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital[…]

Investigators don’t have any witnesses, but two people seen speeding away from the scene in a vehicle were taken in for questioning, police said. They were later released without being charged.

This past weekend’s activities brings the 2020 weekend shooting total in Chicago up to 39 dead with another 183 wounded. MRCTV has been keeping track of weekend shootings in Chicago for the entirety of 2020.

Oh, and that disparity between the total number of shooting victims in Chicago in 2020 compared to 2019? Yeah, that just keeps widening. The Chicago Tribune, who keeps track of shootings in the city no matter the day of the week, reported that — as of March 17th — Chicago is 87 shootings ahead of the pace at the same point in 2019. The week before — as of March 10th — the disparity was at 77 more in 2020 than in 2019.

We’ll see if this virus has absolutely any effect on the numbers following next weekend, but don’t hold your breath.

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