ILLINOIS
Homicides, shootings soared in Chicago
One of the most violent years in Chicago history ended Sunday with a sobering tally: 762 homicides, the most in two decades in the city and more than New York and Los Angeles combined.
The nation’s third-largest city also had 1,100 more shooting incidents than it did in 2015, according to statistics released by the Chicago police. The numbers underline a story of bloodshed that has put Chicago at the center of a national dialogue about gun violence.
The data released Sunday are staggering, even for those who followed the steady news accounts of weekends ending with dozens of shootings and monthly death tolls that hadn’t been seen in years.
The increase in homicides compared with 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years.
— Associated Press
Seven injured in Miami shooting: Police say seven people, including three teenagers, were injured in a New Year’s Day shooting in Miami-Dade’s West Little River neighborhood. The Miami Herald reported that police said the victims were standing outside a house about 6 p.m. Sunday when a car pulled up and someone inside opened fire. Police said six of the victims are in stable condition. A 17-year-old is in critical condition.
Pa. teen charged in fatal shooting: A 15-year-old boy in Pennsylvania has been charged with homicide after a New Year’s Eve shooting that killed another 15-year-old boy. State police say they were called to a home in Greencastle, Franklin County, shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday. Police say one of the boys showed the victim a handgun and pointed it at him. The gun went off and the victim was shot in the head. Pennlive.com reported that he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect is being charged as an adult.
Broken sewer line forces evacuation in Michigan: The new public works commissioner in a suburban Detroit county is declaring “all hands on deck” to fix a broken sewer line that has created a major sinkhole and forced the evacuation of 22 homes. Former congresswoman Candice S. Miller used her first day in office Sunday to urge Macomb County residents to reduce water consumption while crews create a bypass to get around the bad pipe. The short-term fix could take a month.San Diego twins born in separate years: For the second straight year, twins in San Diego are getting attention because one has a birthday in 2016 and one in 2017. KFMB-TV reported that the twin girls were born at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns. One girl arrived at 11:56 p.m. on Dec. 31, and the other came just after midnight. Last year, a girl and a boy arrived one minute before and two minutes after the new year began at San Diego Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center.
