Chicago Police: 39 Shot, 2 Fatally, Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Chicago and Evanston police investigate a crime scene after a gunman went on a shooting spree before being killed by police during a shootout in Evanston, Ill., on Jan. 9, 2021. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Around 40 people were shot, including two fatally, in Chicago during Thanksgiving weekend, according to police.

Officials confirmed to ABC7 that two people died in shootings between Thanksgiving Day and Sunday.

A male between the age of 18 and 35 was shot and killed on Saturday night in the South Side’s Avalon Park, officials told the news outlet. He was found under a viaduct about 7:30 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head.

The male, who was not named, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

A day earlier, a woman, identified as 25-year-old Artilia Cunningham, was shot and killed when someone fired shots through her South Side home window at 1:45 a.m. The woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead, police told the outlet.

Also during the weekend violence, a 16-year-old boy was shot in Humboldt Park Saturday afternoon while trying to purchase drugs, police said. The boy was struck in the leg and drove himself to the hospital, where he’s in good condition, said police

On Thursday, officials confirmed a 15-year-old boy was shot and injured while sitting in a car 4800 block of South Ada Street when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside opened fire at the car. The unnamed boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital and is in good condition, officials told ABC7.

Reports, citing police, said that about 31 people were shot across Chicago last weekend.

A website that compiles media reports on Chicago shootings and homicides reports that about 3,474 people have been shot so far in 2021, while 737 murders have been reported.

The spate of violence comes several days after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s violence reduction czar—a position known officially as the “Director of Violence Reduction”—resigned. It’s not clear why Norman Kerr resigned, but the City of Chicago said it was on good terms.

Lightfoot, a Democrat, is “incredibly grateful” to Kerr for his “steadfast leadership and commitment to reducing violence in our city, both during his time with the City, and beyond,” the City of Chicago said in a statement to the Sun-Times.

“The work of the Office of Violence Prevention continues as part of the Community Safety Coordination Center,” the city said. “Norm has continued to be a close partner of the Mayor’s Office since his amicable departure, and Mayor Lightfoot wishes him all the best as he expands his impact beyond Chicago.”