So far in 2021, the Illinois State Police has responded to more than triple the number of shootings on Chicago-area expressways compared to the same time period last year, according to the agency.
From Jan. 1. to March 5, 2021, troopers were called to a total of 42 expressway shootings, state police confirmed to NBC 5 Friday. For the same time period in 2020, police responded to 13 expressway shootings.
In the most recent incident, one person was killed and two others were seriously wounded early Friday on Interstate 57 on Chicago's Far South Side.
As NBC 5 Investigates reported in November of last year, a stunning number of shootings, in comparison to 2019, had occurred up to that point. If shootings continue at the current pace, the number of incidents recorded in 2021 would well surpass those that were reported in 2020.
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Col. David Byrd, deputy director of the Illinois State Police, told NBC 5 at the time that shootings have exploded in frequency and that the problem seems to be shockingly unique to Chicago.
"I've actually talked to other officials from other police agencies throughout the nation," he said at the time. "They're dumbfounded. They don't know what to say to me... I mean their jaws drop!"
In December of 2020, the region saw expressway shootings for eight days in a row.
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Anyone with information about any expressway shooting is urged to call the Illinois State Police at 847-294-4400.
