By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
At least eight people were killed in Chicago violence last week, including two brothers and a pair of teenage boys, all of whom died after a pair of shootings on the West Side.
The boys were killed in a drive-by shooting that also left a 65-year-old woman was wounded Tuesday afternoon in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.
Sixteen-year-old Malik McNeese and a 17-year-old Stevie Jefferson were on a sidewalk about noon in the 3400 block of West Fulton when a black SUV pulled up. Someone in the vehicle opened fire, hitting the younger boy in the head, back and arm; and the older boy in the head, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
McNeese was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead; while Jefferson died after being taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, authorities said.
A stray bullet went through the front door of a home on the block, hitting the 65-year-old woman in the leg. She was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition, police said.
- About 12 hours later, the brothers were fatally shot in the Homan Square neighborhood Tuesday night. Officers responding at 11:13 p.m. to a call of shots fired in the 3200 block of West Lexington found the pair lying in the street, police said.
Simmieon McGruder, 23, was shot in the head and left arm, and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:52 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. His brother, 25-year-old Simmie McGruder, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and died at Mount Sinai at 5:13 a.m. the next morning.
- A 31-year-old man who worked as finance manager at Chicago Tech Academy High School was found shot to death Saturday morning just a block away from the school in the University Village neighborhood.
Jason "Jay" Goodfriend was found when officers responded to a report of a man slumped over inside a running vehicle about 9:50 a.m. in the 1300 block of West Hastings, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Goodfriend had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:07 a.m., authorities said.
- A 33-year-old man died Friday, nearly two weeks after being wounded in a mass shooting Christmas night in the East Chatham neighborhood that left another pair of brothers dead. Three men were killed and four others wounded in the shooting, which happened about 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 25, police said.
A group of people were gathered on the porch of a home in the 8600 block of South Maryland for a holiday party when someone wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt walked out from an alley and opened fire before running away.
Steven Freeman, of the 7600 block of South Normal, was shot in the body and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 1:53 a.m. Friday, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Also killed in that shooting were James Gill, 18, who was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene; and his brother Roy Gill III, 21, who was shot multiple times and died at Christ Medical Center, authorities said. A 35-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was also taken to Christ, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. A 27-year-old man and 21-year-old woman both suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and were taken to Stroger, where their conditions were stabilized. A 39-year-old man shot in the foot later and was in good condition, police said.
- A 36-year-old man was shot to death late Thursday in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. Someone walked up to Dante J. Swanson about 11:15 p.m. as he sat in the driver’s seat of a car parked in the 800 block of East 46th Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The suspect fired repeatedly, striking Swanson several times across the body. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Swanson worked as a delivery driver for FedEx, and had just ended a work shift when he was shot.
- The week's first homicide occurred when an off-duty Chicago Police officer fatally shot a man on the Northwest Side after an argument Monday morning, officials said. The medical examiner’s office identified the slain man as 38-year-old Jose Nieves, who was shot several times though did not have a weapon, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the 57-year-old cop, assigned to the mass transit unit, does not live in the area but knew the person he shot from another “confrontation a few weeks ago.”
An “altercation” between the men escalated about 9:30 a.m. in front of a Nieves' residence in the 2500 block of North Lowell, and the officer shot him multiple times, according to a police statement. Nieves was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died less than an hour later.
The police department and Independent Police Review Authority have opened simultaneous investigations into the shooting. The department announced Tuesday that the officer has been stripped of his police powers.