By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Sun-Times file photo
Three teenage boys were among 8 people were killed last week as the death toll from homicides in Chicago neared 60 just five weeks into the new year.
The shooting last week brought the homicide total to 57, and it reached 60 with a fatal stabbing on Tuesday night, according to Chicago Sun-Times records. The numbers actually show a slight decrease since 2016, when the 60th homicide was recorded on Feb. 2, six days earlier.
One of the teens, 15-year-old honor student Willie Woodus was shot and killed Friday evening as he walked home from Fenger High School in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side. Just after 5 p.m., the boy was walking in an alley in the 11400 block of South Stewart when a gray Pontiac drove by and someone inside opened fire, hitting him in the head, chest and abdomen, Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Woodus was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead an hour later, authorities said.
About eight hours later, another 15-year-old boy, Clavonte Eubanks, died after being shot early Saturday in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on the Far South Side. At 3:27 a.m., the teen was walking through a park in the 2100 block of East 97th Street when he heard gunshots and felt pain in his chest, police said. He ran to a home in the 2200 block of East 97th Street, where someone called an ambulance. Eubanks suffered a gunshot wound to the upper-right chest and was taken by emergency crews to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died less than an hour later. He lived in the same neighborhood where he was shot.
- Another teenage boy was killed and a man wounded in a Logan Square neighborhood shooting early Friday on the Northwest Side. About 2:30 a.m., the coworkers were driving in the 3700 block of West Fullerton when a black four-door vehicle pulled alongside and someone inside opened fire, according to police. The passenger, Carlos R. Fitz, was shot in the head and neck, and died at the scene, the medical examiner's office said. The 20-year-old driver was treated and released from Norwegian American Hospital with a hand wound. It was the city’s first fatal shooting since Tuesday night, a span of nearly 55 hours that marked the longest stretch without a gun homicide so far this year.
- A man was killed and a woman wounded in a shooting Sunday night in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The two were standing outside a parked vehicle about 9:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of South Leamington when a black Dodge Ram pulled up, Chicago Police said. People inside the truck began arguing with the man and woman, and someone in the truck fired shots. Geovani Mexicano, 27, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He lived in southwest suburban Hometown. The woman, 29, was shot in the back near her shoulder and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.
- A man was found shot to death Tuesday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. Marcus Cameron, 22, was found about 7:40 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head in the 4500 block of South Prairie, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at midnight.
- A man died one day after he was shot Sunday evening in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Jordi Ibarra, 23, was found shot in the head at 5:35 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, in the 6200 block of West Grand, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Ibarra was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died at 3:25 p.m. Monday.
- A man was shot to death Monday afternoon in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood. Patrick M. Franklin, 19, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the groin about 12:45 p.m. outside a home in the 4600 block of South Woodlawn, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died less than an hour later.
- A man was found stabbed to death early Monday inside his home in the South Chicago neighborhood. Officers responded about 12:35 a.m. to check on the well-being of the 55-year-old and found him inside the home in the 8500 block of South Colfax, according to police. Jonas L. Haynes had been stabbed in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.