Gunfire results in three dead, fourth in critical condition following incident near School-Central intersection in 16th District on NW Side

by BRIAN NADIG

Two men and a woman died after being shot while standing with a group of people at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, in the 5500 block of West School Street, where a man fired shots and fled in a dark-colored SUV, according to Chicago police.

A fourth person, a 25-year-old woman, is in critical condition at Illinois Masonic Hospital, suffering a gunshot wound to her head, according to police.

The shootings reportedly may be related to an altercation at or near a bar on North Central Avenue, but police say the investigation is in its early stages and no arrests have been made. The shootings occurred in the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District, which has experienced five homicides in 2022.

In the School Street incident, a 50-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the head and chest and was pronounced on scene, and a 26-year-old man was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was pronounced, police said.

In addition, a 24-year-old woman with injuries was transported to Mt. Sinai and was pronounced, police said.

The16th District has experienced a 42 percent increase in serious crime this year through Dec. 4, with 2,097 reported incidents compared to 1,472 during the same period last year, although the increase is due largely to more property crimes, especially car thefts and catalytic converter thefts. The total number of shootings in the district is similar to last year, with at least 22 reported in 2022.

Personnel shortages reportedly have made it difficult on some shifts to have patrol cars on all beats in the district, and some cars reportedly have one officer instead of the preferred two officers.