Alarming: 24 Shot Within 12-Hour Span In Chicago

[mom cat]

Alarming: 24 Shot Within 12-Hour Span In Chicago

June 27, 2005 7:21 p.m. EST


Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Chicago, IL (AHN) - Over 24 people were victim to gunfire between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The incidents ranged from a man shot in the foot -- to drive-by shootings -- as well as injuries of people shot just outside the Taste of Chicago event that was taking place over the weekend.

Police report most of the incidents took place on the West Side of Chicago.

snip

At least two people died in the weekend violence.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/2239828990

[rzemanfl]

1. In Baghdad they'd call that a quiet night. n/t

[orwell]

2. Spreading

I guess that's what Shrubbie means by "spreading Democracy."

[saigon68]

29. Its a good thing Chicago has Banned firearms

The criminals are rejoicing because they can "STRIP MINE" the pockets of their victims, because the laws about packing "HEAT" are a mere nuisance to them.

[Roland99]

7. Can't be any worse than Houston.

I mean, DeLay says Houston is as bad. What with the car bombs going off in the Galleria area and IEDs along I-610.

[Renew Deal]

10. lol

:rofl:

[KeepItReal]

16. Westheimer was too much for me... I'm a Houston refugee now

;-)

[bribri16]

24. Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people! n/t

[MiniMandaRuth]

3. Violence is only going to get worse if we don't do something about guns

knives, or other such weaponry. And the rethuglians think that we don't need gun laws.

[darkism]

9. That seems to be an unpopular opinion around here.

I have no idea why there are so many gun nuts on DU, but I figure I'll reply first so you can get ready to don your flame suit.

Oh, and welcome to DU! :toast:

[Wcross]

18. I am Nutz about guns......

I am going nuts about losing elections due to the fringe elements of the party. Just as the bible thumpers that wanted to keep a vegetable alive in Florida, the gun banning element is our laughing stock.
Despite the fact that 38 states now have "shall issue" concealed carry permits, the gun homicide rate is down.
The current hoopla about the evil .50 bmg rifle is a non-issue. There has been but one crime committed by a criminal with the rifle that I know about- nobody was injured in the incident.
The AWB did nothing. I could buy the same weapon the day before the ban as I could after. It just didn't have a bayonet lug. Did bayoneting deaths go down after the ban? (Maybe???)
Private gun ownership is already restricted in Chicago. Do they really need to make it a double dog dare you crime to control the violence or is there a deeper problem?
How about banning all guns? It worked wonders for cocaine. Never mind the fact that there are tens of millions of firearms in circulation, criminals will not obey laws to turn weapons in and a semi-skilled person with a simple metal working shop could produce firearms easily.

The efforts of the gun control crowd continue to cost us votes. In light of the fact that gun homicides are down considerably I wish they would tone it down. They are kind of like a drunk uncle at the family reunion; I can't wait till they sit down and fall asleep.
I am a gun owner, I am a democrat. I will stay home rather than vote away my right to keep and bear arms.
If I get booted for this post, oh well. Did we not lose traditionally democratic states in the last two elections that happen to have a high percentage of gun ownership?

[colonel odis]

31. oh my god, you've figured it out! we lost the last two elections not

because of voting irregularities, a complacent media, unanswered attempts to smear kerry, and so forth.

it was because democrats want to ban guns!!!! guns is good! let's make sure everybody has two or three of them!

if our penises don't measure up, let's go buy a gun or two and feel like real men! walk down the street with that hulk of big, strong, black metal rubbing up against us. makes me want to hitch up my britches and affect a dirty harry look just thinking about it.

[Wcross]

32. Support for gun control sure didn't help.

How many votes did we gain by supporting gun laws that don't work? How many did we lose? My guess is we lost far more than we gained.
By the way, that penis/gun analogy does nothing other than show you have no real arguement.

[420inTN]

38. I support gun control...

That's why I'm going target shooting tomorrow afternoon during lunch. To make sure I still have proper control.

[Wcross]

40. You get it- is it because you live in Tennessee?

I am near Shelbyville. I don't think these city dems understand that it is rare for any household to be a "gun free" zone in our state. I firmly believe that Al Gore lost his home state due to the parties affiliation with the "million mom march". I went to the range during the mothers day rally they held in 2000. I had never seen so many people there before.
When we start advocating targeting criminal misuse of guns rather than the guns themselves we might start winning on a national level again.

[420inTN]

51. It's because my parents taught me gun safety and respect.

I live in Memphis now, but grew up in Mississippi. My dad is from Texas. I have my grandfather's squirrel gun from when he was a kid (Winchester pump .22LR) that was made back in the '20s or '30s.

My Dad would take us target shooting every now and then and made sure that we knew how to handle and respect firearms. When i was 13, I could break down and reassemble a semi-auto handgun in about 90 seconds.

Guns don't scare me, but some of the a-holes holding them do. ;-)

[Testament]

77. Me too...

Bullseye pistol match this morning, my first. Just got back from a smallbore rifle camp as well.

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Romulus]

48. yep,

Everyone knows not to mess with you when they see you coming down the street. . . cuz you "swing" like that . . .:eyes:

Edited to add:

Dirk Diggler, watch out!! :eyes:

[KDLarsen]

54. Gee, commens like that are really going to win people over...

:eyes:

[Wcross]

53. What rock have you been hiding under?

Gun violence is on the increase? How is it that the FBI uniform crime reports counter that claim?
Thank you for proving once again that you have no real arguement, just insults. Thank you for defying logic with emotion.

[colonel odis]

55. maybe that's why they call them gun nuts. cause that's the only

kind they have.

[Wcross]

57. "They" call them gun nuts?

No, you call them gun nuts. What about women who own guns, are they compensating for something?
You don't like guns, fine. If you don't like the fact that I own a gun then we have a problem. I have been called worse than a "gun nut" with a small penis. I believe a firearm is the best option for self defense. (maybe thats why the police carry them???)

[colonel odis]

66. then we have a problem. because i believe you shouldn't have a gun unless

it's registered with the authorities and you've been trained to use it. i'll support any and all legislation restricting ownership and use of firearms. this country and way too many of its citizens have lost all sanity when it comes to guns.

[Wcross]

67. You said it all on the subject line.

I guess we can agree to disagree.

[Lilith Velkor]

56. and your argument shows you are a sexist

I sure hope that penis isn't loaded...

[NickB79]

62. Gun violence has only been on the increase the past few years

From ~1991-2001, it had decreased to the lowest level since the early 1970's. Only after Bush put our economy in the toilet did gun violence, and crime in general, increase.

It's the economy that dictates crime, not availability of guns. The economy goes south and more people turn to crime, especially drug crimes. This in turn means more people get shot in gang wars.

[Robeson]

25. Its not an unpopular idea with me.

[Renew Deal]

11. And we're off.

Watch the gungeon doors fly open as the herd hits LBN. :scared:

:evilgrin:

[Endangered Specie]

19. There must be some alarm that goes off in the gungeon

whenever the word "gun" or "shooting" appears in LBN

[jobycom]

17. You said it!

And I agree. Now I'm going to hide as chairs begin to fly!

[MiniMandaRuth]

46. I don't care if I get flamed

the TRUE me stands by what I think no matter what. A lot of guns+ criminals= bad things. What I think dems need to do is say that we want multiple guns out of homes with children, pets... And out of the hands of criminals.

Just my input.

[NickB79]

22. Chicago does have very, very strict gun laws

Lots of good that has done them.

[Mike Daniels]

49. Hell, Washington, DC is a gun free zone as well

and yet, somehow at least one person gets a bullet in the body every day.

I'd call that a real effective policy.....

[Retired AF Dem]

30. Guns?

Who needs guns.

http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2005/june/112450.htm

Though I would rather been shot.

[Squatch]

34. Gun control in Chacago works!

According to the police, in 2003 Chicago had the fewest number of homicides since 1967, when 552 people were murdered in our city. The statistics for the year 2003 are the more impressive when one takes into account the "particularly violent spring" the city had. And it was not only the murder rate that declined. The overall "index crime" rate (which tracks nine major violent and property crimes), went down 4.4 percent from the previous year's numbers. Some specific figures: aggravated battery went down 18.3 percent; criminal sexual assault went down 10.5 percent; and violent crime went down 10.7 percent.

Nonetheless, Chicago (with 599 murders total for the year) once again ended up as the nation's murder capital. New York, which has about three times the population of Chicago, had three fewer murders. And Los Angeles, the nation's second largest city, had less than 500 homicides.

Link

[AngryAmish]

41. Gun control has nothing to do with the drop

Chicago has been behind the curve on modern crime control. However, in the last year or two a new system has been put in place. In essence, it is a big computer database that maps every call and every crime. There is now a chain of command down to the individual patrolman who is responsible for every crime on their beat.

So, if there are 3 muggings on the same block in a week, the District Commander yells at the Precinct Commander, who yells at his watch command, who yells at the Sargent who yells at the patrolman who is responsible for this block. Patrolman does not like to get yelled at. So he catches the bad guy instead of hanging out at the beef stand. This is how it works in theory, and it seems to be effective.

[saigon68]

68. Where's Chacago?

Never heard of it.

[Walt Starr]

39. Gun control helped so much in these Chicago incidents

You cannot own a gun in the city limits of Chicago wihtout jumping through major hoops. Outside Washington D.C., Chicago probably has the most draconian gun control laws in the nation.

Look at how well they worked.

:eyes:

[slackmaster]

59. Ridiculous

Chicago has just about the strictest gun control laws in the whole country. It's almost impossible to get a handgun there legally. And guns are harder to get in the rest of the country now than they have ever been in the past.

The problem in Chicago isn't the rest of the nation. The problem in Chicago is the people who are problems in Chicago. Do something about THEM before asking the rest of us to give up our liberty.

[rurallib]

4. heat makes people crazy

stir in a little alcohol (you know that legal substance) plus a touch of unemployment and BANG BANG you're dead.

[kevin881]

15. yes. its the heat. I live here.

[orleans]

21. i live near there

welcome to DU

and i'm wondering...maybe daly would like to bitch durbin out again over something just to distract us all from the gun issue.

[newblewtoo]

5. New record ?

48 per day.... Glad I don't live in Chicago.

[Kraklen]

6. Are they suspecting a DC type sniper?

That's how the DC sniping story got started. Just an unusual number of shootings. Took awhile before they realized they were linked.

[Cocoa]

8. but two deaths is low for a summer weekend

five or six seems typical, at least it did a few years ago.

[Lori Price CLG]

12. OMG, can the gov't get any more *obvious?* They want these cameras...

Holy coincidence, Batman!!

Chicago pairing surveillance cameras with gunshot recognition systems 26 Jun 2005 Chicago officials are using new technology that recognizes the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius, pinpoints the source, turns a surveillance camera toward the shooter and places a 911 call. Officials can then track the shooter and dispatch officers to the scene.

<snip>

The American Civil Liberties Union in Illinois said it is somewhat concerned about privacy rights being violated because the city's camera system is so prevalent.

Spokesman Ed Yohnka said officers need to be properly trained in monitoring the cameras and only record activity in public spaces, such as sidewalks and streets.

"That it could someday gravitate toward the violation of individual rights, that applies no matter what system it is, including these," Yohnka said of the pods with the sound detection systems.

<snip>

Suddenly, it'll all seem a lot more palitable...

Lori Price

[brentspeak]

13. At this point, might as well have cameras running 24/7

all over Chicago. Better than getting killed.

[Rich Hunt]

27. oh, come on

This is a sensationalist news story. It says that "24 people were shot", not killed. Incidentally, many, many people were in town because of Pride Weekend, Taste of Chicago and ALA.

Who the hell is "AHN" anyway?

Interesting quote snipped from the above: "We're just spinning up here,'' an unnamed Detective told the Chicago Sun Times.

[Guaranteed]

14. You think the City of Chicago is doing this? nt

[Lori Price CLG]

23. No. I just think it's odd that every time a city wants to 'upgrade' its...

surveillance system to the Orwell-would-roll-in-his-grave level, snipers suddenly punctuate the city landscape, terrorizing the public... this happened in CA a few months ago, but I cannot recall the details.

Lori Price

[The Magistrate]

26. This Is Not Snipers, Ma'am

This is just a little more intense activity by the usual run of armed mopes than occurs most summer weekends. You may be sure people living here barely noticed....

[fergie49015]

20. Gun rights for Chicago

 Let the good people have guns not just bad ones.

[burrowowl]

28. And we are setting

ourselves up as a model to Iraq! Nay the world!
And this is just Chicago! In ABQ we can contribute to the number of wounded and dead due to shear violence!

[Squatch]

33. Aren't guns under a de facto ban in Chicago?

"The City of Chicago requires registration of all firearms. Registration of handguns was closed by Mayor Jane Byrne in March of 1982. Since then, no new registrations are accepted, only renewal of existing registrations. There are also Cook County laws restricting certain types of firearms primarily so-called, "Assault rifles.""

[Logansquare]

43. Yep, but people come up from the south and sell them

out of the backs of their cars. The police nabbed two guys from Kentucky in my neighborhood last year--an undercover officer noticed one man was clearly re-arranging what looked like an *assault rifle* in his trunk.

It's become like fireworks: just buy a carload in a state where they're legal (or Mexico), and sell them out of your trunk for cash.

[slackmaster]

75. Willingness of some Chicagoans to BUY those guns and misuse them

Is the other side of that coin.

The gun runners from Kentucky are criminals and deserve to be punished, but that does not absolve the native criminals of the Windy City of their actions. It takes both to make the shootings happen.

[ZR2]

35. Does anyone really think a criminal cares about gun laws ?

If they are planning on breaking the law anyways, why would they care about breaking a gun law ?

[Romulus]

36. great place (not)

The Chicago city govt has banned self-defense firearms . . .

The Chicago PD have no obligation to protect any individual Chicago resident . . .

And now Chicago is a war zone?

Good thing Chicago residents "took a stand" and voted in a govt that forced all Chigaco residents to surrender 100% responsibility for their well-being to those who don't have to do jack squat about their said "well being" . . .

I guess those residents will all just stay home, where it's safe.

[Rich Hunt]

37. give me a break

It's hardly a war zone. Have you looked at the statistics above? Murder is down everywhere.

I never thought I'd see this thread still up here at this time in the morning.

What is the purpose of your kicking it? Oh I get it - it's going to be turned into a debate on firearms so that this misleading and suspiciously timed attack on our city by a scarcely authoritative news source stays on the front page.

Oh well, good thing the whole world doesn't read DU.

[Toots]

42. Well at least we can be assured guns don't shoot people.

:shrug: I bet we would never see such headlines in any other country on the face of the earth. But it isn't the fault of guns.....gotta get more guns so this doesn't happen any more.

[IA_Seth]

47. Chicago has a law against them - sure worked huh? n/t

[Hamsta1]

44. Must be those activist judges again!

[jeffrey_X]

50. What do you expect....

These people have nothing to lose. They place no value on life. Our society has created an environment where they have nothing to live for and nothing to lose.

It's sad really, but not surprising as Chicago is still the most segregated city in the country.

[sweetheart]

52. how many were caused by drugs prohibition

and how many were police shooting civilians. When i hear news like
that, i'm always curious "why", and it seems rather that the journalists
have all the depth of a cookie sheet.

[Old Vet]

58. People, get real........

Iam the father of three on a rural farm,100% democrat, Like my dad and his. Although I haven't hunted since getting out of service I keep weapons for one reason,Security. Period. Maybe once a year I fire them at cans and such explain to my kids how to use them and the rules,One more time Rules. Telling people they shouldn't have weapons offends me. Obviously carrying a 9mm in cities is insane, No reason. But a persons home is off limits to all, I know this isn't popular among some of you but its the thinking of alot of Middle aged dems I know. This is just one mans opinion.

[jeffrey_X]

60. How many times have you used it for "security?"

Just curious.

[Old Vet]

61. Never.....

And chances are I never will. God forbid.

[Wcross]

72. Sounds like you HAVE to kill somebody in order to justify it?

I am in a similar situation as you are. I have never seen a sherrif's deputy on my road. I don't expect a law officer to be able to come to my aid quickly. A man would have to be an idiot not to prepare for what might happen.

[NickB79]

63. Sounds like a good argument to get rid of my fire extinguisher

Never had to use it yet.

[jeffrey_X]

64. How many people have been killed by fire extinguishers this year?

nm

[NickB79]

65. Probably more than my rifle has killed

I know for a fact zero people have been shot by my .223, but I can't be certain no one has been beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.

I do know though that I have used my rifle once in self-defense, though (no shots were fired, thankfully).

[Township75]

74. How many people have been left alone in their homes...

because they MIGHT have a firearm in there....if the criminal doesn't know, they may rather move on to a house where they are sure they owner does not have a firearm.

[Wcross]

71. Yep....

Homeowners insurance- never have had a claim so its got to go!
My storm shelter has to be filled in also.

[ljaycox]

69. A city is exactly where...

where the 9mm is most useful in the right (trained) hands. We live with a lot more risk of personal attack in cities. It is not insane to arm oneself in cities.

[Wcross]

70. You sir, are full of it.....

Everyone knows you can't beat a good old 1911 in .45acp.

[jody]

73. I'll bet most of the assailants had felony records that made it illegal

for them to possess a firearm.

The obvious solution is to prevent law abiding potential victims from keeping and bearing arms to defend themselves against criminal attacks.

[billbuckhead]

76. 70,000 Americans are victims of gunfire every year

The problem with guns

The problem with guns is fairly straightforward: they make it easy to kill or injure a person. In Jeffrey A. Roth's Firearms and Violence (NIJ Research in Brief, February 1994, found at http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/guns/gun.viol), he points out the obvious dangers:

* Approximately 60 percent of all murder victims in the United States in 1989 (about 12,000 people) were killed with firearms. According to estimates, firearm attacks injured another 70,000 victims, some of whom were left permanently disabled. In 1985 (the latest year for which data are available), the cost of shootings--either by others, through self-inflicted wounds, or in accidents--was estimated to be more than $14 billion nationwide for medical care, long-term disability, and premature death. (Editor's note: the number of gun victims has increased since 1989 to 15,456 gun homicides in 1994. Source: FBI UCR report.)
* In robberies and assaults, victims are far more likely to die when the perpetrator is armed with a gun than when he or she has another weapon or is unarmed.

(Dr. Jeffrey A. Roth served as study director for the Panel on the Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior. Currently he is research director in the Bethesda, Maryland, office of the Law and Public Policy area of Abt Associates, Inc.)

<http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~zj5j-gttl/guns.htm>