In the wake of Chicago's latest rash of gun violence, including a gunman opening fire at a South Side restaurant, the city's police chief told reporters, "as a Chicagoan, I'm angry and sick."
"You have my promise that CPD will utilize the full weight of our resources to go after the individuals responsible for yesterday's incidents," Supt. Eddie Johnson told reporters Friday afternoon.
Seven people were killed Thursday in three shootings in less than 12 hours in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood.
Four were killed at a Chicago restaurant just blocks from where a pregnant woman had been found dead hours earlier. Later that night, a man and woman in a van were shot to death in the same neighborhood.
Johnson said investigators "know for certain" the shootings were targeted and related to gang conflicts in the area.
"While this doesn't lessen the weight of what happened, we know these weren't random acts of violence," he said.
Johnson said police have been deployed to the area to monitor gang conflicts, and CPD detectives are working around the clock to investigate the shootings and identify the shooter.
Starting this weekend, coordinated enforcement missions will target "the individuals that are driving the violence in these areas" and where retaliatory violence may occur, Johnson said.
Thursday's shootings capped a bloody afternoon on the city's South Side. In total, at least 12 people had been shot across the city since Thursday morning.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglelimi said the restaurant shootings were believed to be gang related and a retaliation "from another incident."
He said detectives were making "good progress" in the case.
Hours earlier, a pregnant woman was found shot to death in an apartment less than one mile away.
Patrice L. Calvin, 26, was discovered shortly after 12 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head in the 7500 block of South Luella, Chicago Police said.
Calvin was four months pregnant with her first child, her father told NBC 5.
Reporters interviewing neighbors about Calvin's shooting said they heard what sounded like gunshots. Seconds later they heard sirens and discovered the second shooting scene just blocks away.
As rush hour approached, police reported a third shooting scene on the Dan Ryan Expressway near 35th Street.
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No injuries were reported but authorities had closed lanes on the roadway as they investigated.
"They need to stop this. It's crazy," said Rochelle Peterson, who lives in the area. "It makes me want to stay in the house, but I need to do things. ... My son is scared to come outside."
