Amelia Finefrock
This Sunday, Chicago recorded reached its 500th homicide of the year, the victim was a man gunned down at 24th and Western, according to Tribune data.
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Despite the numbers, Chicago has actually gone down in homicides by 7 percent. According to the Chicago Tribune, more than 2,700 people have been shot in Chicago this year. The Toyota Corolla that held the latest victim this past weekend was riddled with bullet holes.
Shattered side windows and a blood-streaked windshield was the scene on 24th Street and Western. About 20 feet away, lay a pile of bloody clothes. On Sunday, 4:30 p.m., The 24-year-old, Juan Bahena Jr. was sitting in this car when someone in a tan minivan opened fire and struck him in the neck, thigh, and buttocks.
At Stroger Hospital, he was pronounced dead. Bahena Jr. lived about five miles away in the 3800 block of West 56th Place. Bahena marked the 500th homicide in Chicago this year.
Last year, violence hit levels Chicago had not seen in decades. Up until now, the number of homicides has been going down.
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The Chicago Police Department does not include homicides that occur on expressways but do include cases considered justifiable. Fatal police shootings are also not counted. On Saturday at midnight, the police of Chicago had recorded 486 murders in the city compared to last year’s 521.
Among the 2,718 people shot in Chicago this year, Bahena was one of them. Chicago police also count incidents, not individual victims. This year so far, police had recorded 2,089 incidents versus 2,486 compared to last year.
Chicago police count incidents, not individual victims. And though there was an almost 16 percent decline from incidents happening last year, much work is yet to be done in Chicago.
