Homicide reported near Melrose-Laramie; at least 4 shot over 7 days in 16th (Jefferson Park) District

Two shootings, including one which resulted in the death of a 18-year-old man, were reported Sunday, Dec. 6, in the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District.

The driver of a vehicle was fatally shot at about 5:10 p.m. in the 5100 block of West Melrose Street, according to Chicago Police Office of News Affairs. The incident remains under investigation, police said.

It was the ninth reported homicide in the district this year. In 2019 the district experienced 10 homicides, compared to two or three in most recent years.

Meanwhile, a 31-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the hand at about 5 a.m. in the 6300 block of West Higgins Avenue, police said. He was in a vehicle traveling east on Higgins when an occupant of another vehicle fired into his vehicle, striking him in the hand, police said.

The incident may have been related to a dispute which started at a restaurant several blocks away, police said.

The man was transported to Community First Medical Center and is in good condition, police said. No arrests have been made, police said.

The latest shootings follow a Nov. 30 incident in which two men were reported shot while riding in a car in the 4800 block of West Patterson Avenue. Both are expected to recover, according to police.