Cruel Winter: Chicago’s Shooting Epidemic Continues With 43 Homicides In January 2013 [PHOTOS]

Last year, Hip-Hop Wired reported on numerous homicides in Chicago. Closing out the year there was an unspoken hope that the start of 2013 would bring about some form of change, but that has not been the case.

As of today, Chicago has had more shootings deaths than days in the month of January. Even worse, this is the second consecutive year the number has reached no less than 40. In comparison, New York City saw 14 murders in the same month.

The Midwest City is on track to surpass 2012’s numbers, giving it the bloodiest January for the first time in 10 years. Community leaders and politicians alike have promised to work and put a dent in the violence, yet no solution has been found.

Continuing at this pace, Chicago is in line to easily exceed 500 homicides this year. “It’s disappointing,” said Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. “You don’t throw out everything you’re doing because you had a bad couple of days.”

Perhaps the saddest part of this horrid reality is that parents now have no choice but to be in fear for the lives of their children. Bullets have no names, ages, or even specific targets, and countless of youngsters have lost their lives as a result.

Among the latest was the story of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. Weeks earlier, the teen experienced what would end up being one of the biggest moments of her tragically short life by performing at President Obama’s inauguration. She was gunned down after school in an area just blocks from the president’s’ Chicago home. Both she and a 16-year-old boy were hit.

Pendleton’s story has gone the way of so many like her, faces immortalized in tragedy.

Prior to her death Pendleton had done her part to speak out against gun violence in her hometown. She participated in a PSA, telling a story that would later become her own. “So many children in the world have died in gang violence…from being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said.

Given the clear ties to the president, the belief by some is that the situation in Chicago–and countless cities across the nation–doesn’t get the attention needed to help bring about a cease-fire.

In hopes of continuing to shine light on what has become a war zone, Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at the 43 homicides that have occurred in Chicago over the month of January.

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Photos: Facebook/Terrence Antonio James/Eric Clark

**Continued below

Week 1: Jan. 1-8

Chicago’s violent 2012 continued into 2013, with five deaths taking place on New Year’s Day; Octavius Lamb, 20, would be the city’s first homicide victim of the year. It was an especially violent day in the ravaged city, with 15 persons shot alone. Many of the killings were due to gun violence, but 17-year-old Ezquiel Velasquez was the victim of a carjacking and beating. Police suspect some victims had gang ties, especially those who resided or frequented the notorious South and West Sides. Chief Keef’s estranged stepbrother, Ulysses Gissendanner, was also caught in the crossfire.

Below are the victims’ names:

Octavius Lamb, 20, gunshot, 1-1-13
Kevin Jemison, 29,  gunshot, 1-1-13
Devonta Grisson, 19, gunshot, 1-1-13
Myron Brown, 30, gunshot, 1-1-13
Ezquiel Velasquez, 17, assault, 1-1-13
Ulysses Gissendanner, 19, 1- 2-13
Michael Kozel, 58, 1-3-13
Unidentified Black male, gunshot, 1-5-13
Angela Welch, 55, stabbing, 1-5-13
David Kartzmark, 25, gunshot, 1-5-13
Taison Moore, 33, stabbing, 1-6-13
Marcus Turner, 19, gunshot,1-6-13
Lavonshay Cooper, 22, 1- 6-13
Darvelle Brown, 24, gunshot, 1-8-13
Tyshawn Blanton, 31, gunshot, 1-8-13
Michael Santiago, 21, auto crash, 1-8-13

**Continued below

Week 2: Jan 9-16

January 9-16 Chicago had 11 homicides, 10 of which stemmed from gun violence and another from arson. There were multiple homicides Jan. 10 (2), Jan. 11 (3) and Jan. 16 (2). Most victims were Black, or Hispanic males, ranging from ages 14-51.

Below are the victims’ names:

Johnny Taylor, 23, gunshot, 1-9-13
Brian Cross, 34, gunshot, 1-10-13
Tyrone Soleberry, 39 , gunshot, 1-10-13
Marcus Wallace, 23, gunshot, 1-11-13
Victor Vega, 15, gunshot, 1-11-13
Rey Dorantes, 14, gunshot 1-11-13
Damian Barnes, 22, gunshot,1 -13-13
Gregory Brady, 28, gunshot –1-14-13
Curtis Porter, 51–, gunshot, 1-15-13
Tyrone Lawson, 17, gunshot, 1-16-13
Claudia Martinez, arson, 35, 1- 16-13

** Continued below

Week 3 : Jan.17-23

The third week of 2013 saw the murders of five people, The youngest of which was a toddler. Police found 19-year-old Jovantay Alexander dead lying on his back, near two brick buildings. His body was uncovered in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Residents in the area did not know Alexander, who died from a shot to the head. He had no gang ties.

Below are the victims’ names:

Jorge Valdez-Benitez, 18, gunshot, 1-17-13
Marshall Fields-Hall, 21, gunshot, 1-18-13
Jovantay Alexander, 19, gunshot,1-18-13
Layla Stewart, 2, child abuse, 1-20-13
Elton Johnson, 35, gunshot, 1-23-13

**Continued below. 

During January 24th through the 31st, there were 10 homicides in Chicago due to handguns. The deadliest day of the week came on Saturday January 26, that left seven men dead, with six of them victims of gunshot wounds. A 32-year-old man was fatally stabbed in the South Shore neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago while one unidentified man was killed in the Bridgeport section of Chicago.

Below are the victims’ names:

Ronald Peters, 50, gunshot 1-25-13
Ronnie Chambers, 33, gunshot 1-26-13
Allen Smiley, 41, gunshot 1-26-13
Norman Stokes, 38, gunshot 1-26-13
Dimitiri Buford, 32, gunshot 1-26-13
Willie Wilson, 33, stabbing, 1-26-13
Unidentified black male, gunshot, 1-26-13
Antonio Fenner, 16, gunshot 1-26-13
Gino Angotti, 20, gunshot 1-29-13
Devin Common, 27, gunshot, 1-29-13
Hadiya Pendelton, 15, gunshot, 1-29-13