Chicago's homicide rate sits at three on the second day of the New Year.
Police report a 20-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday in a West Town alley.
Octavius Dontrell Lamb, of the 700 block of North Throop Street, was pronounced dead at 4:16 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The death marked Chicago's first homicide of the year.
A 29-year-old man was gunned down in Bronzeville, and a 19-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting in Gage Park.
Fifteen others were injured in New Year's Day violence.
The deaths and injuries come as Chicago wrapped up 2012 with 506 homicides, a 16 percent increase over 2011. The last time the number climbed that high was in 2008, when 512 homicides were recorded.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the total "an unfortunate and tragic milestone, which not only marks a needless loss of life but serves as a reminder of the damage that illegal guns and conflicts between gangs cause in our neighborhoods."
"The brave officers of the Chicago Police Department work tirelessly to continually reduce crime, but this is not just a law enforcement issue," Emanuel said in a statement.
