On the job a little more than a month, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Tuesday that gun violence over the Memorial Day weekend — the deadliest in five years — was “nothing short of alarming.”
At least 10 people were shot to death and 40 others were wounded, despite a statewide stay-at-home order and stepped-up police patrols. Still, Brown said he was not discouraged going into the summer months, typically the most violent time of year in Chicago.
“My resolve (hasn’t) been shaken at all in making Chicago the safest city in the country, and neither should yours,” Brown said at a news conference where he was flanked by other top brass at police headquarters. “We are committed and dedicated to making this city the safest in the country. This was a challenging weekend. But we are not shaken. We are not going to … give up on our city.”
This weekend’s shootings began within hours after Brown spoke to reporters on Friday about his plans to contain the violence. Two people were killed and six people wounded Friday afternoon through early Saturday; six people were killed and 10 people wounded Saturday evening through early Sunday; one person was killed and 13 people wounded Sunday afternoon through early Monday; and 12 people were shot Monday into early Tuesday, one of them fatally. In addition, one man accidentally shot himself Monday afternoon.
“This unacceptable level of violence happened while Chicago remains under the stay-at-home order meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Brown said Tuesday. “Chicago police issued roughly 300 group dispersal orders each day this weekend. Most individuals complied with the order. … But the stay-at-home order did little to prevent violence, particularly in parts of the West and South side.”
Brown said the shootings stemmed from disputes between rival gang factions, as well as clashes involving the sale of drugs. He said the coronavirus outbreak, which prompted the stay-at-home order more than two months ago, has made people eager to spend time outdoors and likely added to the violence.
“People are feeling restless after being cooped up for weeks,” Brown said.
But the weekend shootings were upstaged by a scuffle between police officers and a large gathering on the South Side on Sunday night that was caught on video and drew the attention of everyone from Chance the Rapper to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Officers were called to the 7000 block of South Lowe Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood to disperse a crowd that had gathered on the street. The video shows a chaotic scene as officers struggled to break up the crowd, grabbing some of the people and chasing off others.
During the incident, an officer saw a man take a handgun and put it in front of a car before running south on Lowe, according to police. Police chased him down and arrested him. Sedrick Monroe, 42, was charged with one count of being an armed habitual criminal. Police said a loaded Glock handgun was recovered.
Not long afterward, officers responded to a “10-1” call — an officer needing immediate assistance — when shots were fired in the area.
Jaquan Hayden, 21, of Homewood, was arrested about 10:45 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Lowe Avenue after he was seen grabbing his waistband and running through a vacant lot, police said. After a short chase, he was taken into custody and a loaded revolver was recovered, police said.
He is facing charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest, police said. He did not have a valid firearm owner’s identification card or concealed carry license.
Two officers were taken to a hospital in good condition for minor injuries, police said. It was unclear what their injuries were.
Chance the Rapper shared the video and asked the city to “stop sending large groups of militarized police into our neighborhoods exclusively.” He noted that photos had been posted of large gatherings in North Side neighborhoods and in the downtown area without similar police action.
Lightfoot tweeted that she was aware of the video and said, “We will continue to investigate the incident to ensure proper tactics were used — ensuring constitutional rights are protected — and that CPD officers are wearing face coverings to maintain public health.”
Brown said the video from the Englewood incident highlighted how officers are faces challenges on two fronts: fighting violence and getting the public to adhere to the stay-at-home order.
“Officers were challenged with saving lives,” Brown said, reacting to the video. “Because (these) crowds spread the virus. While at the same time there were guns and shots fired in that crowd, and our officers had to take action to save lives of people in the crowd that may have been victims of the shots that were being fired. … We recovered two guns that were in the crowd. … It’s a twofold challenge that happened.”
Lightfoot said police enforcement should be the last resort to ensure social distancing, but “for the greater good, when absolutely necessary, we will — no matter which neighborhood large crowds are gathering in.” She added that police responded to dozens of reports of social distancing violations across the city, from Lincoln Park and Humboldt Park to Andersonville and Auburn Gresham.
On Tuesday, Chief Fred Waller, one of Brown’s top deputies, told reporters that police responses to the violence and the dispersals in places like Englewood and in the downtown area — where a group demanded that businesses reopen during the pandemic — showed how officers were where they were needed during the long holiday weekend.
“As you can see, our officers were busy in all parts of the city this weekend,” Waller said. “Yes, we need to do better. And we will do better.”
The Englewood district logged two fatal shooting over the weekend, the second most gun homicides in the city. The West Side’s Harrison district, one of the most violent in the city, had the most with three. Five other districts — Morgan Park, Grand Crossing, Shakespeare, Gresham and Calumet — all had one homicide each.
Three teenagers were shot over the weekend, including 16-year-old Darnell Fisher, who was killed Saturday night in the Washington Park neighborhood. Police took someone in custody for a weapons charge, but the person was released about 4 a.m. Sunday because prosecutors denied charges.
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A 15-year-old boy was shot in the face, chest and abdomen early Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood and taken to a hospital in critical condition. A 15-year-old girl was grazed in the leg by a bullet early Monday in the West Pullman neighborhood while sitting on a porch.
The tally of shootings doesn’t include an attack during which four people were stabbed at 9:15 p.m. Sunday after an argument erupted with tenants of a Gresham apartment building in their backyard, police said. A 46-year-old woman took out a knife and stabbed three men before someone stabbed her, police said. They were all taken to hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening. Charges were pending against the woman.
The last homicide of the weekend was about 8:30 p.m. Monday in the 2800 block of West Wilcox Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side, police said. Two men, 45 and 52, were standing on the sidewalk when someone in a white sedan fired shots at them, police said.
The younger man was shot in the head and torso. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The older man was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center in good condition with a gunshot wound to the left leg, police said. No arrests have been made.
