A large number of shootings have occurred in Chicago over this past month, instilling fear among Illinois residents. A main concern among residents is the safety of students who travel to school daily.
Various shootings have taken place in multiple areas in and around Chicago this past month. On Nov. 27, a man was shot on the busy streets of Lincoln Park. ABC7 Chicago states that there was a bullet hole in a storefront window that marked the location of the shooting.
Residents who once felt safe in Chicago’s North Side are rethinking their initial assumptions. According to ABC7 Chicago, a Lincoln Park resident stated the unexpectedness of the crimes in Chicago as most residents seem to think it is safe until a shooting or threat occurs.
Another case took place on Nov. 28 when a 62-year-old man was shot in his own home, located in West Side, Chicago. According to ABC7 Chicago, the Chicago police stated the shooting happened in what seemed to be a second-floor apartment, and the victim was in critical condition.
According to ABC7 Chicago, “The man is now at least the second victim within only one week who has been shot in Chicago from gunfire that entered their home.”
These two people aren’t the only ones who have been shot recently, putting everyone in Chicago in danger. In the early morning of Nov. 29, a teenager in Lawndale was shot multiple times. ABC7 Chicago stated how a 17-year-old boy was standing on the street when someone from a black car came and shot him.
Another shooting took place in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the same day. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 18-year-old victim was killed on the 2800 block of West Polk Street, which is the same location as the killing of the 17-year-old boy that took place that morning.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “Around 2:20 a.m. Daniel Alexander Gonzalez was outside in the 2800 block of West Polk Street when a black vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire, Chicago police said.”
These shootings now pose a direct risk not only to adults but also to teenagers. With the excessive number of shootings occurring, many Illinois residents are growing fearful, believing that it has become an unsafe place to live in.
According to CBS News, “At least three people were killed and 19 people were hurt in shootings across Chicago during Thanksgiving weekend, according to police. The ages of the victims range from 15 to 62.”
Shootings tend to increase during the holidays. Shunda Collins, the Vice President of Development and Communications at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, explains the reasons for this pattern.
“Tension can tend to rise when there’s bigger gatherings and people are traveling or navigating the community a little bit more,” Collins said.
According to the Chicago Tribune, most of the homicide victims in Chicago died as a result of a shooting in 2024. The majority of the victims are African American males, and the ages of the victims vary, but most of them are in their teenage years, twenties, and thirties.
While most shootings are occurring in the city, these crimes affect the state as a whole. Collins talked about the widespread impact of these crimes throughout Illinois.
“The violence in the city of Chicago affects the ecosystem of the state,” Collins said. “As people desire to leave the city for safety reasons, or have to because of needing to relocate after there’s an incident, that then spreads out into the suburbs, and there’s an impact there.”
A study conducted by the University of Chicago states the negative effects of frequent shootings in the area, focusing on how gun violence impacts students and their level of engagement in class.
According to the University of Chicago, “Frequent exposure to violence and trauma can impact youth’s mental health, emotional development, and academic engagement.”
Even a single shooting can harshly affect a student’s mental health, academic engagement, and willingness to attend school. Given the frequent number of shootings in the area, the youth population is susceptible to being affected.
The Chicago Police Department is taking the initiative by posting crime videos on its website to inform the public about dangerous individuals and gather any relevant information anyone may have.
The ultimate goal is to not only lower the rate of Chicago shootings but also to make Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and schools in the suburbs safer. WTTW mentions the efforts made by school systems to make schools and their communities safer.
According to WTTW, “The findings come as CPS is rewriting its school safety plans by removing police from buildings and implementing a more holistic model that focuses on the emotional safety and relational trust between students and staff.”
The Institute of Nonviolence Chicago has several plans aimed at preventing gun violence, by providing cognitive and behavioral training and interventions, particularly geared to the youth. Collins describes how crimes in the community impact not only students but also those around them.
“It’s a part of living in certain contexts or certain areas that in some way it affects you, so there’s that trauma setting in, whether you address it or not. We try to make those services available,” Collins said.
Gun violence continues to be a major concern and recent crime trend, both organizations and law enforcement are looking deeper into it to address it. Collins stresses the seriousness of addressing these situations.
“[Gun violence] is a symptom of other issues that have arrived, but it’s a matter of life and death, so it becomes important when you view it in that way,” Collins said.
