43 shot in Chicago, 6 of them fatally, on warmest weekend of the year

Police work the scene where two people were shot on the Chicago Riverwalk near the Dearborn Street Bridge Sunday, June 11, 2017 in Chicago.
At least six people were fatally shot and 37 others were wounded in Chicago over the weekend in attacks that included two rifle homicides in Back of the Yards, nine people shot in a single incident in Lawndale and double shootings on the Riverwalk and at 31st Street Beach.

The violence, on the warmest weekend of the year, brought the number of homicides in Chicago this year to at least 275 -- nine fewer than last year but substantially higher than in other years going back to 2013, according to data kept by the Tribune.

At least 1,520 people have been shot in the city this year, down 150 from the last year.  But again, this year's tally is higher than at this time in 2015, 2014 and 2013.  Last year was the most violent in Chicago in two decades.

This past weekend included two fatal shootings by rifle fire within 24 hours of each other, in a neighborhood where rifle shootings have become the norm as gangs in the Back of the Yards and neighboring Brighton Park have turned to the high-powered weapons.

At least 20 people have been killed, and another 47 wounded, in rifle shootings since March of 2016.

The first of the two rifle shootings this weekend happened around 3:15 a.m. Sunday, at 53rd Street and Seeley Avenue, leaving a 19-year-old man dead and two others wounded, according to police.  The other happened about 5:10 p.m. at 48th Street and Winchester Avenue, outside Hedges Elementary School. A 24-year-old man was killed, police said.

Nine people were wounded in a single attack in the Lawndale neighborhood about 3:15 a.m. Sunday. All of their conditions were stabilized, according to police. The victims ranged from 17 to 35 years old.

No one was in custody.

The 31st Street Beach shooting happened about 6:40 p.m. Sunday on a beach crowded with children and others enjoying the weather. Two boys, both 16, were critically wounded and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Another double shooting happened early Sunday on the Riverwalk downtown. They were arguing with someone else when they were both shot, police said.  They were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where they were stabilized.

In addition to the shootings, a 13-year-old girl was stabbed and beaten to death in the Sheridan Park neighborhood Sunday night.

The attack happened about 9:45 p.m. and the girl was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Police arrested a person a few blocks away about 3:20 a.m. Monday.

Police described the attack as stemming from a "domestic" disturbance.