OPINION - EDITORIAL

OTHERS SAY - To catch a shooter

Scenes from Chicago, that notorious first weekend in August, when 75 people were shot, 12 of them fatally: A 17-year-old boy is shot and killed while riding his bicycle in the Gresham neighborhood. The gunman gets away. A 19-year-old man walking in Brighton Park is shot in the arm; he tries escaping into a laundromat, but a panicked employee locks the door, forcing the wounded man to run off. The shooter gets away. Two men exit a vehicle at a Lawndale block party and open fire at a crowd of people, hitting a 13-year-old boy, two other teens and a 25-year-old man. The gunmen get away.

Aim, fire, flee. Or maybe not aim— just spray and go, leaving behind a scene of carnage, terrified residents and another crime for police to solve. That’s Chicago-style gun violence.

Gun violence is a disaster for Chicago neighborhoods, but what aggravates it is the high percentage of such crimes that aren’t solved. Many shootings are gang-related, which are challenging for police to investigate. A wounded gang member may be an uncooperative vic-

tim, preferring to seek justice on the streets instead of in court. Witnesses who live amid the bloodshed may fear gang retribution if they help police. A bigger issue: A community member with knowledge of an incident may decide not to cooperate with police because he or she doesn’t trust them.

The Chicago Police Department struggles to crack violent crime cases. Chicago’s crime-solving rate—known as the clearance rate—for homicides is appallingly low: about 17 percent last year.

One reason gang shootings are tough to crack is they often are sneak attacks: A shooter emerges from the shadows or fires from a moving car and disappears in a flash.

Another challenge for police is their strained relations with residents. CPD has a long record of officers abusing their authority and misusing force, especially in minority neighborhoods.

Chicago has a crisis of gangs and guns. There’s no easy cure, but crime is certain to fester—and law-abiding residents will suffer—until more offenders are caught and convicted of violent crimes.

Upcoming Events