Seadl Commings was fatally shot Monday night in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Police found Commings, 27, in the street with a gunshot wound to the chest in the 800 block of South Central Park Avenue about 11:35 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Commings, of the 3600 block of West Polk Street, died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 12:14 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Jabari Scurlock, 16, was fatally shot this month in the West Englewood neighborhood. Reader "adonis" posted this about him:

We miss you snoop g rest easy you balling in heaven now

Joel Wade was killed in an Auburn Gresham shooting that left two other people wounded Monday night.

Wade, 20, was on a sidewalk in the 7800 block of South Winchester Avenue with a 26-year-old man and teenage girl when somebody inside a passing dark vehicle opened fire about 10:25 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Wade, of the 7300 block of South Emerald Avenue, was struck multiple times and died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, authorities said.

The 26-year-old was shot in the arm and leg and also taken to Stroger Hospital, police said. The girl was shot in the arm and taken to Holy Cross Hospital.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Chen Su, 84, shot his elderly wife then turned the gun on himself in what police called a "domestic-related murder-suicide" Tuesday night in the Bridgeport neighborhood, authorities said.

The Su's daughters discovered the bodies in a bedroom of the elderly couple's home in the 900 block of West 31st Place about 9 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Chen Su and his wife, 84-year-old Hsin Su, each had gunshot wounds to the head and died at the scene, authorities said.

Police said a weapon was discovered next to the man’s body, and he is believed to be the shooter. Autopsies are scheduled for later Wednesday.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Dorval Jenkins was killed in a South Deering area shooting that left two other people wounded Tuesday night.

Jenkins, 19, was standing outside with an 18-year-old man and 17-year-old girl in the 9900 block of South Calhoun Avenue when the gunfire erupted about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

The group said they heard shots, felt pain and realized they had been hit, police said.

Jenkins, of the 9700 block of South Calhoun Avenue, was shot multiple times and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn about an hour later, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

The other man was shot in the arm and the girl was shot in the leg, police said. Both were taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital for treatment.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Andre Ford / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY JORDAN OWEN
Sun-Times Media

A man charged with murder in the 2013 death of his 8-year-old daughter died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday at the Cook County Jail complex, authorities said.

Andre Ford had been in custody since Sept. 16, 2013, when he was charged with murder in the death his 8-year-old daughter Gizzell Ford, authorities said.

Gizzell's grandmother, 51-year-old Helen Ford, was also charged with murder and is being held without bond.

Paramedics found Gizzell’s body -- covered with cuts, scratches and bruises -- July 12, 2013, at the apartment the three shared in the 5200 block of West Adams Street, authorities said.

Prosecutors alleged Andre Ford watched as his daughter was denied food, water, sleep and the use of the bathroom.

Andre Ford, 29, died at the jail's Cermak Hospital at 11:19 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Cook County Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Cara Smith said Andre Ford died from an apparent heart attack thought to be related to a chronic medical condition. The Chicago Sun-Times previously reported that he suffered from a disease that involved the build-up of scar tissue on the skin.

An autopsy is scheduled for later Wednesday.

Arnold Dearies, 26, was fatally shot this month in the Englewood neighborhood. Reader "Rose" posted this about him:

Dearies was well loved by everyone I feel he is a fine young man always respectable it is a tradgety [sic] that his life was taken from him I pray for his mother all his family an friends I'm praying for everyone RIP Dearies love you always ROSE

Devonte Carthan / Photo from Twitter

BY KALEY FOWLER
Homicide Watch Chicago

High school student Devonte Carthan always “made sure he got his grades right” and hoped to use college as a way out of the Altgeld Gardens community, a friend said.

“He wanted to get out of the neighborhood and experience life on his own,” said friend Amirius Clinton, 19. “He always brought up wanting to leave the neighborhood.”

Carthan, 17, won't get the chance as he was fatally shot late Aug. 12 while riding a bicycle in the 9200 block of South Dobson Avenue in the Burnside community, according to authorities.

Police said a silver car drove up and somebody inside opened fire. Carthan, of the 13200 block of South Langley Avenue, died at Advocate Trinity Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Carthan attended Harlan High School, where he was a point guard on the basketball team and hoped to attend Northeastern Illinois University, Clinton said.

“He saw that there were guys who came from where he came from and could make something of themselves and get something out of life other than violence, gangs and drugs,” Clinton said. “He saw there was another side of life that’s not what he sees every day in the neighborhood.”

Another friend, who is not being identified because she is a minor, described Carthan as an outgoing teen with a good sense of humor. Clinton added that Carthan was a kind-hearted teen who wanted the best for everybody.

“He would greet you with open arms, and he didn’t have anger against anybody,” Clinton said. “He was a young kid striving to be better and his life was stolen from him.”

As news of Carthan's death spread, friends took to social media to express their condolences:

Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area Central detectives are investigating if the shooting was gang related.

Antonio Smith / Photo from NBC5 Chicago

BY JON SEIDEL AND MITCH DUDEK
Chicago Sun-Times

Antonio Smith wanted a cupcake.

He’d called his mom while she was on her way home from work, asking to have one.

She said no.

So the 9-year-old ran out of his family’s apartment in the 1100 block of East 73rd Street.

About half an hour later, he was on the way to the hospital, where he would die.

Chicago Police responding to a report of shots fired at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday found Antonio in the back yard of an apartment building in the 1200 block of East 71st Street in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.

“He got mad because I didn’t give him what he wanted,” a somber Brandi Murry said Thursday afternoon, recounting what she knew of her son’s death.

After Antonio fled the apartment, his 12-year-old brother gave chase. But he wasn’t wearing shoes, and he quickly lost him, Murry said.

He returned to the apartment and called his mother about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday to tell her Antonio had run off, Murry said. She was nearby, so she looked, too.

When she couldn’t find him, she said, she called the police. That call was made at 4:08 p.m. Wednesday.

Five minutes later, the police were at her door, telling her she needed to get to the hospital.

Antonio was pronounced dead at Comer Children’s Hospital at 5:13 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

He had been shot multiple times, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

“I just want whoever did it to turn themselves in, because he was a 9-year-old innocent baby and he didn’t deserve that,” the victim’s cousin, Rasheda Eggleston, told NBC Chicago.

“He was just a child, just a baby, had a whole life ahead of him,” another cousin, Kenya Eggleston, said.

Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina parish, urged people to gather for a prayer rally at 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of East 71st.

Pfleger said a $5,000 reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest of Smith’s killer.

The boy’s slaying “can’t be tolerated,” Pfleger said.

“Especially a 9-year-old child,” he said. “It’s just ridiculous.”

Cynthia Smith-Thigpen, who lives in the 1200 block of East 71st Street, said the 9-year-old boy was found on a concrete slab behind her home.

She said she didn’t know he was there until police came to her home. She said she was distracted by the TV and her two grandchildren, ages 2 and 6.

“It’s frightening to know that these things are happening around your house,” Smith-Thigpen said.

Smith-Thigpen said her 6-year-old has been asking to ride his bike behind her house. And she said her 86-year-old mother parks her car there.

“I’m glad I didn’t send my 6-year-old grandson out to empty the garbage,” Smith-Thigpen said. “He has a bike that he wants to ride outside. We bought it for him, but now we don’t even let him go outside because of all this shooting.”

Rosetta Jordan, 81, who lives on the block, said her son, Eddie Jordan, 45, heard gunshots. Before going out to investigate, he ordered his 9-year-old son to the basement where he would be safe from stray gunfire.

She said her son found a “neatly dressed” boy lying in the backyard of a neighboring apartment building.

“I’m still shaking,” Rosetta Jordan said Wednesday evening. “It’s just so sad.”

As Jordan stood at her front door, several police cars, with lights and sirens activated, rocketed past her home on three separate occasions.

Jadon Johnson was fatally shot early Thursday in the Riverdale neighborhood.

Johnson, 21, was shot while sitting in a parked vehile in the 13300 block of South Indiana about 12:10 a.m., authorities said.

A relative drove Johnson, of the 700 block of East 89th Place, to Roseland Community Hospital, where he died a short time later, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Johnson was killed about four blocks from where Chicago Police fatally shot alleged armed bicyclist Darius Colegarrit, 21, when police say he pulled a semi-automatic handgun on officers Tuesday night in the 13300 block of South Forestville Avenue.

Nobody has been charged in Johnson's murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Antonio Smith, 9, was fatally shot Wednesday night in the Greater Grand Crossing community. Reader Kina Ward posted this about him:

This is such a tragedy. Antonio Smith was a sweet young man with a great spirit. He always asked me if I needed help and especially with taking my garbage out. His demeanor was always pleasant. I'm just so sick and tired of hearing about all of this nonsense day end and day out. His character and what happened to him is just not lining up.

John Atkins

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

A popular night club promoter’s lover and her best friend lured him to a Far South Side home where he was robbed and murdered last year, prosecutors said Thursday.

LaDonna Curry and her pal Audreianna McNeil allegedly enlisted two men to help them carry out the deadly plan in the 11700 block of South Hale Avenue, said Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Molesky.

After meeting John “Fuzzy” Atkins at the nightclub where he worked on Aug. 31, 2013, the women — both Fenger Academy alums — allegedly convinced him to meet them at the Hale Avenue address.

Their two male cohorts were waiting in the back of the house and when the McNeil and Curry saw them, they left the gangway and got back in their car, leaving 33-year-old Atkins alone, Molesky said.

The women last saw Atkins on his knees with his hands behind his back, Molesky said.

He was discovered by neighbors with a gunshot wound to his head the next morning.

Curry and McNeil had gone to McNeil’s job but then went to McNeil’s house in Gary, Ind., after one of their cohorts called them, Molesky said.

That man also drove to the Gary residence in Atkins’ car, Molesky said.
There in McNeil’s garage, he allegedly burned Atkins’ ID and cell phone.
He also had in his possession a necklace belonging to Atkins, Molesky said.

The two women and the man ended up driving in a vacant lot where they burned Atkins’ car, Molesky said.

Cell phone records indicate that McNeil, 25, and Curry, 29, were in the area of the murder and were in Gary following the crime, Molesky said.

Both women allegedly admitted their role in the murders.

McNeil, of the 11900 block of South Lafayette Avenue, is a shift leader at a Dunkin Donuts and is taking nursing classes at Olive-Harvey College, an assistant public defender said.

Curry is unemployed and is a mother of four. According to police reports, Curry currently lives in the 7600 block of South Essex Avenue.

Judge Peggy Chiampas on Thursday ordered both women held in lieu of $500,000 bond on murder charges.

The two men involved in the murder have not been charged, prosecutors said.

Walter Neely / Photo from Instagram

BY ANGELIQUE WHITE
Homicide Watch Chicago

Walter Neely was an artist who often drew pictures about the violence in Chicago.

Neely, 25, became a victim of the violence when he was fatally shot Aug. 15 in the 3400 block of South Indiana Avenue -- about a block from Chicago Police Headquarters, authorities said.

"A policeman could have been looking out the windows over there and actually see who got shot," LaDonna Coney said. "I want whoever shot my son found because you have to be crazy to walk up on him and shoot him with all those cameras over there. I want them found so they can’t do this to nobody else."

Coney said she her son was a natural artist, and she wanted him to enroll at the Art Institute of Chicago.

“He drew animated characters, and he drew Chicago,” Coney said. "He wasn’t a nine to five guy, and he could really draw with those markers, stencils and charcoal."

Neely had prior success in school and graduated from Phillips Academy High School in Bronzeville a year early, his mother said.

Much like drawing, cooking also came natural to Neely, his mother said.

“I would get meat out and say 'Walter I need you to cook this,' and he would," his mother said. "He loved it! I guess it was meditating for him.

“My son loved to barbecue -- he was a grill chef. He loved links, polishes and fish, he loved to throw fish on the grill and he loved to fry fish. Oh, that boy could fry some fish! That boy fried fish so good you thought you got it at a restaurant!”

He enjoyed cooking for his family, including numerous brothers and sisters.

"Walter was the physical strength of his siblings," Coney said. "He was the shoulders for everyone and he was look up to by everyone."

Neely had two small children, Tiyanna and Trevion, his mother said. He was out getting milk for his daughter when he was shot, said his step-grandmother, Lula Coney.

Neely took a friend with him to get milk, but when the gunfire erupted he ordered his friend to run away, Lula Coney said.

“He told his friend to run the night he got killed," Lula Coney said. "He decided to take the bullet."

“He liked to take care of people. He liked to protect people,” his mother added.

His step-grandmother said the shooting isn't the first time Neely helped others on the street, and recalled a time when he saved a child from a pitbull attack.

“The dog was after the child, but he jumped in and took the biting from the dog instead,” Lula Cooney said. “He has always tried to help people.”

Besides family, Neely had a small group of friends, many of whom he called brothers, his mother said.

"Walter was so loved," LaDonna Coney said. "You’re not going to find anyone that has something bad to say about Walter, he didn’t have any enemies."

As a younger man, Neely pleaded guilty to a 2010 drug charge and was sentenced to probation, which he completed with satisfaction, according to court records. He was currently awaiting trial on a 2013 felony gun charge, according to court records.

“He is an ex offender but he was really on the road to getting himself together," his mother said.

Neely's step-grandmother said he didn't go out at night, and his mother added the night he was killed was the first night he had been outside in four months.

“He didn’t walk the streets like that anymore,” his mother said. “I never thought my son would die on these streets, he was smart and he knew people in the streets."

The Cook County medical examiner's office said Neely died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about 30 minutes later, but his mother said her son died on the street.

“The ambulance didn’t get there in time, he died in the streets. For my son to die in the streets like that ... he was a fighter, he was out there to the very end and he was trying to fight.”

LaDonna Coney said she wished she had spoken with her son right before his death.

“If I could have just said, 'Hold on Walter' or 'What do you want me to do Walter' ... anything.”

Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area Central detectives are investigating.

A prayer vigil and flyer distribution is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at 3510 S. Indiana Ave.

“He was always there for me, always. Now he’s gone, just like that. Its forever changing,” his mother said. But I do believe he’s going to heaven and he’s going to watch over me, he wouldn’t have it no other way.”

Michael Clark was killed in a West Englewood neighborhood shooting that left another man wounded late Thursday.

Clark, 52, and a 23-year-old man were standing on a sidewalk in the 7200 block of South Winchester Avenue when somebody inside a passing vehicle opened fire about 11:25 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Clark, of the 7200 block of South Paulina Street, was shot in the back and shoulder and died early Saturday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The other man was shot in the foot and took himself to Holy Cross Hospital, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Tyrell Birmingham / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Tyrell Birmingham was denied bond Saturday for allegedly opening fire on a group of people gathered on an Austin neighborhood porch -- killing Damion Bryant last month on the West Side.

Bryant was socializing on a front porch of a home in the 5200 block of West Quincy Street when Birmingham drove past and opened fire on the group about 8 p.m. July 11, authorities said.

Birmingham's brother had an ongoing drug-related dispute with a 37-year-old man on the porch, prosecutors said.

Birmingham, 27, was the only person in the vehicle, which he drove slowly down the street then opened fire out the window with a semi-automatic handgun, prosecutors said.

Bryant, 32, who lived on the block, was struck in the head and died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Rev. Joe Davis described Bryant as a family man with several children who had a close relationship with his mother and sisters. He also owned several stores in the neighborhood and would help young people find work, Davis said.

"Everybody looked up to him," Bryant's friend, Deangelo Henderson, said. "All the young guys including myself looked up to him."

The 37-year-old man, a 41-year-old man and a 30-year-old old woman were also wounded, authorities said. A 37-year-old man was also hospitalized with a broken foot, police said.

After the shooting, Birmingham attempted to drive away but was blocked by a vehicle in front of him, prosecutors said. Birmingham allegedly struck that vehicle multiple times to make good on his escape.

Multiple people identified Birmingham as the shooter and he was Aug. 21. On Saturday, Judge Laura Sullivan ordered him held without bond.

Birmingham will be back in court Sept. 11.

Andre Byrd was killed in an Austin community shooting that left two other men wounded early Sunday.

The men were at a backyard party in the 5000 block of West Potomac Avenue when someone came out of an alley and opened fire about 2 a.m., police said.

Byrd, 33, of the 200 block of North Kolin Avenue, was shot in the chest and died at the scene, authorities said.

A 35-year-old man was shot in the chest, elbow and hip and was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, police said. A 36-year-old man was shot in the back and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Chicago Sun-Times

Three people have been charged with murder in the September 2013 shooting death of Chicago rapper Leonard “L’A Capone” Anderson outside a South Side recording studio.

Anderson, 17, had just exited the studio in the 7000 block of South Stony Island Avenue and was walking through an alley when he was confronted and shot Sept. 26, 2013, said Assistant State's Attorney Alex Molesky.

Anderson, who rapped under the moniker L’A Capone, was struck in the lower back and right thigh and died a short time later, authorities said.

Sakhee Hardy-Johnson, 17, and Michael Mays, 21, gave statements admitting to getting a gun before going to the studio, Molesky said.

They also admitted to being inside a parked vehicle "that would run interference in the event that police officers arrived on scene," she said.

Meiko Buchanan was also charged with murder for allegedly being the driver of a “tail car,” a vehicle meant to insulate a lead car containing a gunman, Molesky said.

Buchanan, 23, told investigators he watched the shooter sneak up on Anderson and open fire with a .40 or .45 caliber handgun, Molesky said.

Authorities did not name the shooter.

Anderson, of the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue, was no stranger to gun violence and had previously been shot, said his mother, Dedra Morris. Police said Anderson had documented gang affiliations.

On Saturday, Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Mays held on $500,000 bond and Hardy-Johnson held on $350,000 bond.

On Sunday, Judge Adam D. Bourgeois Jr. ordered Buchanan, of the 600 block of West 60th Street, held on $1 million bond. He was already being held in Cook County jail for an unrelated battery case.

All three will be back in court Sept. 10.

-- Contributing: Michael Lansu

James McCoy was killed and three other men were wounded during a shooting at an Auburn Gresham lounge early Sunday.

The men were inside a lounge in the 8300 block of South Halsted Street when somebody inside a passing vehicle opened fire into the club about 2:40 a.m., police said.

McCoy, 30, from downstate Peoria, was shot in the chest and died about an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.

Three other men were wounded, police said. A 32-year-old man was shot in the chest, a 41-year-old man was shot in the left ankle and a 39-year-old was shot in the buttocks.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Quentin Graham was shot to death early Sunday in the Back of the Yards community.

Graham, 40, was sitting on a porch in the 800 block of West 50th Place when a light-colored vehicle pulled up about 2:45 a.m., authorities said.

As Graham walked towards the vehicle someone inside opened fire, authorities said.

Graham, of the 700 block of West 50th Place, was shot in the chest and died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County less than an hour later, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

A 16-year-old boy was shot to death Sunday morning in the Little Village neighborhood.

Victor Martinon was talking to friends on a sidewalk in the 2200 block of South Marshall Boulevard when two people walked up, shouted gang slogans and opened fire about 6 a.m., authorities said.

Martinon, of the 2300 block of South Trumbull Avenue, was shot twice in the chest and died at Mount Sinai Hospital about 30 minutes later, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire