State of violence across the city in a short span of time forced Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis to speak out, asking the community to speak up.
A Wisconsin man was charged April 15 with killing his pregnant wife, infant son and two nieces in a shooting spree at a Chicago home that also left his mother and nephew wounded, authorities said. James Larry, 32, of Madison, Wis., was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child. Officials said both his wife and teenage niece were pregnant.
Larry told police following his arrest that he heard voices encouraging him to kill his family and was sorry he had run out of bullets, a person close to the investigation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said the shootings – part of a deadly 17 hours in Chicago, were “unacceptable” and said his department would redouble efforts to stop the violence.
Weis spoke three days after the James Larry shootings, and after a night that saw seven people killed and 18 people wounded.
“We are not Chi-raq. We are Chicago,” said Weis at the news conference.
Most of those who died in shootings the night of April 15 and early the next day had documented gang ties, Weis said. Nobody is in custody in any of the slayings.
In several incidents, either the victim or witnesses refused to cooperate with the detectives conducting the investigations,” Weis said. “The code of silence only helps the offenders continue to terrorize entire communities and their neighbors.”
Officers will strictly enforce curfews as well as stop cars with expired license plates, tinted windows and those violating the city’s noise ordinance, Weis said. They also will break up large parties that bother neighbors, he said, asking residents to report such gatherings.
The department’s deployment unit will speed up its analysis of crime patterns to once every 12 hours in hopes of getting officers to areas where they think there might be retaliation.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said April 15 that Larry’s 19-year-old wife, Tawanda Thompson, and their 7-month-old son, Jahod Larry, were among those shot to death before 5 a.m. Wednesday. Larry’s nieces, 3-year-old Keleasha Larry and 16-year-old Keyshai Fields, also were killed. Thompson and Fields were pregnant, the office said.
A person who spoke on condition of anonymity said Larry told police Allah told him to kill family members.
The man’s sister told reporters at a vigil outside the home that her brother had recently been reading passages from an Islamic text that led him to believe he should kill someone.
áCopyright 2010 Associated Press.
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