Two people have been killed and three injured by police gunfire over the past eight days. According to Chicago Police Department Spokeswoman Monique Bond, loaded weapons were recovered at each scene. A victim was shot to death on the 300 block of West 109
A victim was shot and injured at the 5900 block of South Michigan Avenue and an unregistered .45 caliber recovered. A victim was fatally shot on the 2100 block of West 59th Street and a 9 mm Beretta recovered. A victim was shot and injured at the 1300 block of South Drexel Boulevard and a semiautomatic .45 mm recovered. A victim was shot and injured at the 1100 block of North Pulaski Avenue, and a .45 caliber recovered.
In a sixth incident on Luella Avenue, police fired shots but no one was hit. Citing the ongoing investigation, Bond refused to release victims’ names and ages. Mark Payne, Director of Public Affairs at the Independent Police Review Authority, said IPRA investigators are currently talking to witnesses and collecting evidence to determine whether the shootings were justified. In the meanwhile, Bond said, the officers in question will retain their duties.
Tio Haridman, of anti-violence organization CeaseFire, said that the victims most likely carried guns for protection and not to threaten police. “In most of these incidences you don’t hear of the police being shot at.
For (victims), it’s not in their best interest to shoot at the police, so a lot of the guys throw their guns to the side if they’re being chasedà but the police, might (misinterpret it) and shoot the young guy,” Hardiman said. Bond would not confirm whether officers were shot at but said that in each incident “there was an element of danger” police were confronted by.
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