Chicago in the midst of most violent month since 1996

CHICAGO — The nation’s third-largest city has recorded 81 murders so far in August, making it the most violent month that Chicago has seen in nearly 20 years, according to Chicago Police Department data.

Chicago, which has already recorded 462 murders this year, according to police department data, hasn’t experienced this level of violence since the late 1990s and early 2000s when the city recorded 600 or more murders annually. The August murder toll is the most Chicago has seen in a single month since October 1996 when the city recorded 85 killings.

The latest victim, 16-year-old Elijah Sims, and a 15-year-old friend were shot late Monday as they were hanging out on the city’s West Side, police said.

Sims, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head, was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries early Tuesday. The 15-year-old was shot in the back and remains hospitalized. Neither had gang ties, authorities said.

It’s been a difficult summer for Chicago, which has recorded more murders than larger cities New York and Los Angeles have tallied combined. The murder toll for Chicago is about 50% higher compared with the same period last year. Police have already recorded more than 2,300 non-fatal shooting incidents this year, about 48% more than at the same time last year.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson have blamed the rise in violence on increased gang activity and have repeatedly expressed frustration that state and federal gun laws aren’t tougher on habitual offenders.

Much of the violence is concentrated in predominantly African-American neighborhoods on the city's South and West sides. The uptick in violence comes as the black community's relationship with police has become increasingly strained following the court-ordered release last year of police video that showed a white officer shooting a black teen 16 times. Subsequent controversial police-involved shootings have further complicated the relationship.

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Chicago Police say the vast majority of murder victims and assailants are on its Strategic Subject List, a predictive roster the department generates by crunching arrest information, gang affiliation, shooting patterns and other data to determine people most likely to be involved in a shooting. The list includes about 1,400 individuals.

But there are also plenty of innocent victims who have been caught in the crossfire.

On Friday, the cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade, Nykea Aldridge, was gunned down as she pushed a stroller with her newborn child on the city’s South Side.

Two brothers — parolees with long rap sheets — were charged with the Aldridge killing. The suspects, who are both purported gang members, were allegedly shooting at a man who had no connection to Aldridge, police say. She was walking through the area after registering one of her four children at a nearby school.

One of the suspects, Derren Sorrells, 22, had only been released from prison two weeks earlier after serving about half of a six-year sentence for motor vehicle theft and escape from custody. He had six felony convictions on his record and was prohibited by law from carrying a weapon.

“We keep coming upon the same facts: Repeat gun offenders who continually run in and out of the criminal justice system with no consequences who are back on the streets wreaking havoc,” Emanuel said Monday.

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Rahm Emanuel dismisses Trump comments on Chicago violence

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has pointed to the violence in Chicago as a reason that black voters should back him. The businessman took to Twitter on Saturday to suggest that Aldridge’s killing underscored that “African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP.”

Trump also said in a Fox News interview last week that he met with “a couple of very top police” in the department who said they would “be able to stop (the violence) in one week.” Trump later clarified that he had not met with Johnson.

Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad