Two 14-year-olds are shot dead in Chicago within hours of each other
A pair of Chicago teens were shot dead hours apart from one another, as the Windy City continues to suffer rampant crime.
Javion Ivy and James Sweezer, both 14, were shot in separate incidents on Wednesday, on the West Side and East Side of the city, respectively.
Both Ivy and Sweezer were transported to local hospitals where they were pronounced dead.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, who has seized 284 guns this year, called the incident ‘unacceptable’ as the city’s violent crime continues to spiral.
‘I think about those two young boys, and I think about their potential,’ Brown said at a news conference.
‘They are two of Chicago’s children robbed of their futures, and it is unacceptable.’
This comes after Chicago saw a violent year in 2021 with 3,561 shootings reported and more homicides recorded than any other city, 795.
No arrests have been made in either incident and both remain under investigation.
14-year-old boys Javion Ivy (left) and James Sweezer (right) were shot and killed in separate incidents in Chicago on Wednesday
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown called the shootings ‘unacceptable’ and plans to reduce the city’s level of gun violence in 2022
The first shooting took place at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday at the 2200 block of West Adams Street, where Ivy had been standing on the sidewalk.
He was shot twice in the chest and was later taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Chicago police.
Witnesses at the scene reported that they heard gunfire and saw two people fleeing with one of them taking something from Ivy’s backpack before running away.
The other incident happened around 8:45 p.m. that same day in Englewood where Sweezer was walking with his friend on the sidewalk on the 1400 block of West 73rd Street.
They had been passing by a dark-colored sedan when someone in the vehicle opened fire and shot Sweezer in the head.
He was later taken to Comer Children’s Hospital where he was also pronounced dead.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Chicago Police Department for comment.
Sweezer was walking on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of West 73rd Street with his friend before he was shot in the head by a passing vehicle
Ivy was standing on the sidewalk at the 2200 block of West Adams Street before being shot in the chest
Brown has reportedly seized 284 guns so far this year following a violent 2021
This comes after Chicago woman Derricka Patrick was shot in a parked car in the same area of the city where Sweezer had been killed on Wednesday night.
Patrick had been approached by two gunmen at around 7pm in the 7400 block of South Vincennes Avenue.
She was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Following a violent year for the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has since made it her goal to reduce the rate for 2021.
‘No one can be comfortable with the way that we ended the year, with the number of homicides we had, more than New York or LA, two cities that have multiples in size of our populations,’ Lightfoot said, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
‘They all had an increase, but our number is staggering compared to that.’
This also comes after Chicago saw a rise in robbery-related incidents with the trend of smash and grab crimes that swept the city.
She planned to introduce measures such as implementing ankle bracelets for the city’s violent offenders as well as trying to control illegal drug trafficking.
In addition, Lightfoot wanted to increase positive interaction between police and the members of the community in an attempt to rebuild on trust between each other.
Brown also noted that he planned to increase the number of detectives by a couple hundred to crack down on city crime.
‘You think we were just going to let you get away with killing people? You think you’re just gonna carjack people in this city and get away with it? Smash and grab our retail and our businesses who work hard to put products on their shelves?’ he said.
‘We’re coming after you. We’re going to hold you accountable, and we’re going to keep you in jail.’
Another Englewood resident, Derricka Patrick, 29, was shot while sitting in her car by two gunmen on Wednesday night
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has made it her goal to reduce crime in the city following a violent 2021
Chicago closed out 2021 out as the most violent year in a quarter of a century as the beleaguered city saw almost 800 homicides.
According to police department statistics, there were 795 homicides in 2021 alone – 25 more than 2020, 299 more than 2019, and the most since 1996.
The city also saw 3,561 shootings in 2021, more than 300 than last year and a whopping 1,415 more than in 2019.
With 2021 now in the rear view mirror, other city all across the country have also seen a spike in the number of homicides.
As in previous years, Chicago ended 2021 with more homicides than any other city nationwide, including New York and Los Angeles, both of which had recorded at least 300 fewer homicides than Chicago for the year as of late December, police data reveals from those cities.
Overall crime in 2022 has increased by 29 percent with a 51 percent increase for theft, 44 percent for robbery and 18 percent for criminal sexual assault.
There has also been a 31 percent decrease in murders and a 2 percent decrease for shooting incidents.
