During the weekend of April 16–18 in the Second City, 20 people were shot and seven were killed in a span of 12 hours. Two weeks prior to that, 41 people were shot and five were killed on Chicago’s South Side.
On April 21, a toddler was shot in the head and later died when a reputed gang member opened fire on a parked car sitting in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. The next day, a 21-year-old with gang ties, turned himself in to police in connection with the fatal killing of 20-month-old Cynia “Coco” Cole. The suspect, allegedly a member of Black P Stone, was apparently targeting the toddler’s father, James Hendricks, who was sitting in the front seat. But as the suspect sprayed the back of the car with bullets, one projectile went through the trunk of the car, striking Cynia in the head as she sat between her two sisters.
Hendricks, described by police sources as a rival Gangster Disciple member, told police that the Black P Stone member accused Hendricks’ pals of trying to kill him.
The father, who has an arrest history and known gang affiliation, was the intended target, police said. The shooting happened about 22 hours after a man was slain in almost exactly the same area.
“Our kids play out here every day, so it’s hurtful that a kid got shot who is the same age as my children,” said one neighbor.
“It really does bother me,” neighbor Leslie Gillie told reporters. “When we first moved here two years there was an incident, but I hadn’t heard of anything else.”
Has the city that boasts producing the likes of Kanye West, Common and R. Kelly now become known as the City of Murder?
Community leaders and activists will try to answer that question at a “Stop the Violence“ town hall meeting on April 23. They will also discuss creating and implementing agendas for at-risk youth as it relates to community and after-school programs, youth employment and reducing recidivism rates.
–terry shropshire
