A few days ago we noted that 2016 marked Chicago's most violent year in 2 decades as homicides soared nearly 60% YoY and shootings spiked 46% (see "Chicago Violence Worst In 20 Years: 'Not Seen This Level Of Disrespect For Police Ever'"). And while many would like to hope that the 2016 violence was a temporary phenomenon, 2017 looks to be getting off to a similar start.
As the Chicago Tribune points out, three people were killed and another 16 were shot and wounded just in the opening hours of the new year.
Three people were killed and 16 others were wounded during the first six hours of the year as the city ended a year that brought levels of violence that had not been seen in the city since the 1990s.
In total, four people were killed and 24 other people were wounded in separate shootings from New Year's Eve to early Sunday.
Around 2:30 a.m. an unnamed man was shot by a Chicago police officer, authorities said at a news conference Sunday, about 12 hours after the shooting. They reported that a man led cops on a car chase and physically resisted once he was finally stopped. The man, who is in critical condition, was shot after a scuffle, police said.
About two hours later, two men were killed in the year's first fatal shooting, which took place at 4:25 a.m. Sunday in the 4600 block of North Broadway in the city's Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.
Meanwhile, Trump acknowledged Chicago's bloody 2016 in a tweet posted earlier this morning criticizing Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his failure to curb the violence. Of course, the reference to federal help is likely a retort to Emanuel's vow to have Chicago remain a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants even if it means losing federal funding under a Trump administration (see "Chicago And Boston Join Cali In Refusing Assistance To Trump's Deportation Efforts").
Chicago murder rate is record setting - 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
Data from HeyJackAss! reveals that New Year's Day was the most violent day of the past month as a total of 30 people were shot, 3 of which died from their injuries.
And now that all the data from 2016 has been officially tallied, we find that a total 795 homicides and 4,378 shootings occurred during the year which equates to roughly 12 shootings and just over 2 homicides per day.
The 795 homicides recorded in 2016 marked a staggering 56% YoY increase.
Finally, as we reported throughout the year, the overwhelming majority of Chicago's violence occurred in the city's south and west side neighborhoods.