A seven-year-old kid was fatally shot by a stray bullet on the West Side of Chicago on Thursday, according to officials – just hours after woke Mayor Lori Lightfoot suggested giving herself a yearly salary raise to keep up with inflation.
At least one bullet entered the child’s home on the 2600 block of West Potomac Avenue during the Wednesday night gunfight in Humboldt Park, which occurred at 8:22 p.m.
The as-yet-unidentified toddler was in the bathroom when shots were fired, according to authorities, with one of the stray bullets entering the apartment and wounding him in the stomach.
The boy was later transferred in serious condition to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery to save his life.
However, despite the physicians’ best efforts, the man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead several hours later.
Detectives are currently studying private surveillance footage in an effort to identify and track down those responsible for the shooting, who remain at large.
Multiple shell casings were discovered in an alley behind the boy’s residence, where it is thought the shootings originated.
Since Lightfoot took office in late 2019 crime rates have skyrocketed to levels not seen in decades. This incident is the latest blow to the tarnished reputation of the troubled city. The intent was not immediately apparent.
Officials announced Thursday that a seven-year-old kid was fatally struck by a stray gunshot while washing his hands in his house on the West Side of Chicago. Wednesday night, police are photographed outside a home in Humboldt Park
Detectives are reportedly studying private surveillance footage in an effort to identify and track down those responsible for the shooting, who remain at large.
“It’s a tragedy. Any anybody shot in the city is awful,’ said Detective Chief Ron Pontecore of the Wednesday firefight, soon before the youngster died at the renowned Stroger Hospital.
“When it’s a small child like this, an innocent child, supposedly within the protection of their own house, it’s awful and something we take very seriously,” the investigator said, adding that an investigation was already begun.
Pontecore told reporters just before midnight at the crime scene, “We’re going to deploy a lot of resources to the area to attempt to get to the bottom of this and determine who is responsible.”
As the officer said, gunshots could still be seen littered over the lane behind the residence. Pontecore stated that officers assumed the deadly gunfire originated from there.
Multiple shots were fired during the incident, and a bullet injured the youngster in the stomach, according to the police.
The incident occurred just hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot recommended an annual pay raise to keep pace with inflation. Currently, she earns more than $200,000 each year.
The young toddler was in the bathroom when guns went out, authorities said, with one of the stray bullets entering the apartment and wounding him in the stomach.
At least one other member of the youngster’s family was inside the residence throughout the apparent gun duel, police said, with the relative telling officers that the boy was wounded while washing his hands in the toilet.
Officers would subsequently receive additional reports of shots fired near the residence at Rockwell Street and Potomac, followed by a call regarding the child’s injuries.
Police stated that they do not believe that anyone inside the apartment was the intended target of the shooting, which occurred in a typically violent area of the Windy City.
Hours earlier, the office of the notoriously progressive Mayor Lightfoot was criticized by irate residents for demanding that she receive a 5 percent annual pay raise, despite facing growing criticism over her handling of violent crime in the city and her failure to address its historically high murder rate.
Lightfoot, who currently earns $209,915, made the audacious proposal in an ordinance on Wednesday that would give the mayor, city clerk, and city treasurer access to an annual pay raise.
Police stated that they do not believe anyone inside the house was the intended target of the shooting, which occurred in a notoriously dangerous area of Chicago.
At least one other member of the boy’s family was inside the residence when the apparent gun duel occurred, according to police, with the family member informing detectives that the victim was washing his hands when he was shot.
If the wage increase is authorized, the city official’s income will increase to $216,210 beginning May 22, 2019.
Recent ‘lawlessness’ in the city under Lightfoot, which reached levels not seen in decades during the epidemic and has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, has been criticized by officials from both parties.
During the Defund the Police rallies in 2020, the leftist infamously lowered the Chicago Police Department’s budget by a huge $59 million. However, in August of 2021, in the face of rising crime and widespread walkouts by the city’s police officers, he abruptly reversed his position.
Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police supporters, two movements that Lightfoot had promoted during her campaign, participated in rioting that exacerbated the unrest.
In 2021, the city experienced its worst year in decades, with 797 murders – the highest number since the mid-1990s. Crime, specifically shootings, are of concern.
The police department of the city of Chicago has also grown increasingly at odds with Lightfoot, whose advocacy of progressive policies has landed her in the crosshairs of conservative detractors nationwide.
Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today, a 700-page statute championed by Lightfoot in January, implemented a number of criminal justice changes in Illinois, including the elimination of cash bail.
Ironically, Lightfoot has since rejected the ‘defund the police’ campaign and unveiled a new plan to’refund the police’
It was part of a proposal that saw the federal government invest $16.7 billion in the beleaguered police department, increasing its annual budget from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.
The plan relied heavily on federal funding to help the city recover from a deficit that reached new heights under Lightfoot. It also outlined funding for new community programs that, according to the mayor, will assist the troubled city in overcoming the ongoing pandemic and addressing prevailing issues of gun violence and crime.
The city of Chicago’s police department has also grown more at conflict with Lightfoot, whose progressive initiatives have failed to stem the recent rise in crime.
After roughly a year, violent crimes are continuing on the rise in Chicago, especially when compared to pre-pandemic levels – around the time Lightfoot was sworn in as mayor in May 2019.
According to the most recent data from the Chicago Police Department, crime is still on the rise following an increase in incidents in 2021 and 2020.
Since the beginning of the year, 564 murders have been committed, compared to 428 during the same time period in 2019.
During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, when officials recorded a record 644 killings, that number was eclipsed in 2021, when 676 homicides were committed.
This was the highest amount since the mid-1990s.
Since then, homicides have decreased by 17 percent, but theft, robbery, and general crimes have increased significantly from the previous year, which was one of the most violent in the city’s whole history.
In comparison to the previous weekend, when nine murders and 31 victims were reported, there were more shootings in the Windy City. As of this week, there have been 2,313 documented shooting incidents in 2022.
In the crime-ridden metropolis, 51 people were shot during the last weekend. In the 43 distinct events, eleven victims were killed, including nine children.
A gunshot grazed the face of a 14-year-old child on a playground in West Wilcox, Chicago, during one of the shootings that occurred over the weekend.
Two men in a sedan shot a 16-year-old strolling in South Fairfield one hour after this occurrence. The teenager died in the hospital from his injuries.
In South Albany that same evening, a 12-year-old was shot in the chest by a random gunman in a dark vehicle. He was reportedly rushed to the hospital in critical condition, said ABC 7.
Another 17-year-old was shot in the head in the South Commons area while walking. It is believed that his condition is steady.
Compared to before the outbreak – around the time Lightfoot was sworn in as mayor in May 2019 – violent crimes in Chicago are still on the rise across the board.
Approximately 49,433 more crimes had been reported in Chicago compared to the same time last year, when 35,746 were reported. There have been around 545 murders in the Windy City, excluding the most recent weekend.
Thefts and robberies have also increased significantly over the past year, by a combined 61 percent and 83 percent respectively.
The number of gunshots in the city has decreased by 19 percent, from 2,755 at the same period last year to 2,220 this year.
However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of crimes committed by armed offenders has risen considerably.
Through Sunday, there were 568 homicides in Chicago, a 32 percent increase from the same point in 2019 when there were 397 homicides.
When compared to 2019 shootings, the rate of gun violence has increased by an alarming 35 percent, the most noticeable increase.
Officials, including Lightfoot, have pledged to combat the crime epidemic, but despite her recent dramatic shift in enforcement policy, they have been largely unsuccessful.
Regarding an increase in the police budget, Lightfoot stated, “No question.” We need to.’
She said, “We must ensure that we continue to offer resources to attract the next generation of police officers and that we do it in a manner that reflects the city’s diversity.”
In the two years since the first spread of the coronavirus, homeless encampments and open-air drug markets have become typical on the city’s streets, illustrating the city’s failure to recover.
As the crime rate continues to rise, office workers continue to feel uncomfortable, opting to work from the comfort of their homes instead of commuting to the workplace.
This recent trend toward remote labor, coupled with large layoffs, has left small businesses in the region floundering, since they depend on the now-absent workers to generate revenue.
This, along with rampant inflation, homelessness, and a dearth of employment, has exacerbated the city’s dissatisfaction.
Lightfoot has pledged to combat the rise in crime and general discontent, but has failed thus far.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinsk delivered a harsh speech in mid-September criticizing Chicago officials for the city’s present status after relocating its headquarters there earlier in the year.
At the time, the CEO snidely remarked, “Drug overdoses are occurring in our restaurants.” Thus, we observe daily in our restaurants what is occurring in society as a whole.
Lightfoot’s contentious declaration of Chicago as a’sanctuary city’ has resulted in a recent surge of migrants from border states like Texas, who are being accommodated on the taxpayers’ dime in hotels.
Daily, buses carrying migrants from the Texas border continue to arrive in the city, and more than 4,000 have been accepted as citizens.
Meanwhile, Lightfoot promises to combat the increase in crime and general instability.