This month has been the deadliest January in Chicago since 2002, a year that ended with 647 homicides in the city.
There have been 44 murders in Chicago since the new year began, according to the Red Eye homicide tracker. That is four more than last January, a year in which the city gained national notoriety for its murder rate top 500. All but eight of the homicides have been caused by gunshots, and 40 of the murders occurred on the city’s South and West sides.
The recent shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton near her Kenwood home has sparked outrage and gained national attention, partially because she had performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration just a week before she was killed. Pendleton was shot in the back on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald.
At a press conference yesterday the police department offered an $11,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Pendleton’s killer.
“I want this closed now,” police Supt. Gerry McCarthy said at the press conference, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Pendleton was one of seven victims killed in Chicago this month before reaching their 18th birthday.
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15-year-old girl who performed at Obama’s inauguration festivities shot dead amid Chicago’s most deadly January in a decade(news.nationalpost.com)
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