At least 90 homicides in Chicago in August, deadliest month since 1993

CHICAGO – Sixteen people were shot in Chicago on the last day of August, making it the most violent month in the city in 23 years, according to police statistics.

At least 472 people were shot during the month and at least 90 homicides were recorded, according to the police department. That makes it the deadliest month since 1993, when 99 homicides were reported in July.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson again blamed the proliferation of guns and lenient sentencing laws for people charged more than once for possessing or using a firearm.

“We’re doing our part,” Johnson said in an interview. “We’re closing in on 6,000 recovered guns this year . That’s more than New York and L.A. combined.

”We’re arresting these guys,“ he added. ”Where we have having problems is holding repeat gun offenders accountable for repeatedly committing these gun crimes. And until we fix that, we’re going to continue to see this cycle of violence that we see every day.“

The department said gun seizures have increased nearly 22 percent compared to last year and gun arrests are up nearly 5 percent.

Four of those shot Wednesday died.

Around 12:45 a.m., Armani Fierro, 20, was killed and an 18-year-old man was wounded in the Pilsen neighborhood, police said.

The two were standing on a sidewalk in the 1800 block of South Throop Street when a Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up and someone inside fired, police said. The 20-year-old was struck in the back and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 2:10 a.m., police said.

Fierro lived in the 1800 block of South Racine Avenue, about two blocks from the shooting.

The 18-year-old also was also shot in the back and was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, police said.

Just before 1:15 p.m., a 33-year-old man was fatally shot in the 7300 block of South Rockwell Street in Marquette Park. He was working on a vehicle in front of his home when someone approached and fired several shots, police said, citing preliminary information. The man was hit in the head and chest, and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead.

Just after 9:15 p.m., a 21-year-old man was shot and killed in the Oakland neighborhood. The shooting occurred in the 4000 block of South Lake Park Avenue, where he was sitting in a vehicle when someone shot him multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Around 9:55 p.m. in the West Lawn neighborhood, two men were in a car in the 6500 block of South Karlov Avenue when someone in a black SUV fired shots, police said.

They drove to the 4100 block of West Marquette Road, where they lost control of the car and crashed into a house. A 24-year-old man, whom witnesses said was in the passenger seat, was shot in the chest. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and pronounced dead. A 23-year-old man was grazed in the neck and went to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition.