On a Friday afternoon, violence broke out in two Chicago neighborhoods, wounding two individuals in separate shootings. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that two 29-year-old men in Logan Square were unintentionally targeted by the all-too-common urban violence, with one suffering injuries to his arm and the other to his shoulder. The latter was brought to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, although his companion’s injuries were less severe, and his treatment at Illinois Masonic Medical Center resulted in excellent condition.
These shootings appear to depict a picture that residents, like the nameless guy described by the Sun-Times, believed was fading in favor of safety. “I always brag about how this neighborhood has gotten safer over the years, but lately it seems like more crime is happening around here,” he told me. He had mistaken the gunshots for fireworks, demonstrating possibly the aspiration rather than the reality of his community’s progress.
The situation in Avondale seemed eerily similar to Logan Square’s violence. According to NBC Chicago, a shooting occurred at approximately 4:52 p.m. in the 3000 block of North St. Louis Avenue, injuring two men: a 20-year-old gravely and his 29-year-old victimized classmate with an arm wound. The timing and closeness of these incidents serve as a poignant illustration of the city’s gun violence problem.
There have been no arrests in any incident. Detectives resume their investigation, facing the all-too-familiar challenge of tracing the dots between victims and the violence that cost their lives. While the perpetrators of these crimes remain at large, the neighborhoods are filled with the unease of people who call them home. And, while interviews and media gather the tale of these shootings, the larger story of Chicago’s fight against gun violence remains unresolved.
