Ludjana Dido

a memorial at the site of Ludjana Dido's death

Monday night, I went to photograph the site of 20-year-old Ludjana Dido's death at 2700 W Roscoe. From what I understand there was a gang fight and in the melee, Dido was struck by a car several times and killed. She was 5 1/2 months pregnant. At first glance, the area where this happened seemed so unlikely. 2700 W Roscoe sits at the end of a street that dead ends into the river. Almost directly across from the police station off Western Ave. At the dead end, there is a construction zone and most of the area is blocked off by high fences. On both sides of the street are office buildings. It doesn't seem like a likely place for gangs to clash with each other, but the longer I was there photographing, the more foot traffic I noticed. Just beyond the construction zone there is a park, it's hard to tell that it's there because of all the fences etc. It made a bit more sense after that discovery. When I was finishing up photographing there, a car full of 20 something year old guys pulled up with a bag full of firecrackers. Each had there own 40oz malted liquor bottle. They called out to me and told me not to leave just because of them. I took a few more photos, but I was done anyway.

Blogging Hiatus ( July 7th-22nd )

I will be abroad for the next two weeks and will be unable to keep this blog up while I am away. Check back after July 22nd for the updates from when I was gone and new content.

I did go out to photograph yesterday and will be going out tomorrow morning before I leave. I will have to post my stories when I get back.

More Shootings On the South & West Sides (2)

The man was one of at least 12 people shot on the South and West Sides Monday evening into the overnight hours.


Shaudee Nance
18 years old
Police responded to the 7000 block of South Hermitage Avenue about 9:04 p.m. and found the Nance with a gunshot wound. He was was pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital.


Marshal Reed
21 years old
At midnight today, two men were shot in the 11600 block of South Racine Avenue. They were sitting in their vehicle when someone in a dark Cadillac shot at them before fleeing. Both men were taken to Advocate Christ where Reed later died. The other man remains in stable condition.

Update: 4th of July (5)

fireworks from an East Village rooftop

While fireworks burst loudly in the sky last night in celebration of our nations birth, there were at least 10 13 injured across the city in shootings and stabbings. Here are the fatalities from yesterday afternoon through the night...





Carl Roberson
23 years old
Roberson was shot about 7:57 a.m. by a man who got out of a white vehicle on Sunday morning in the 700 block of North Lotus Avenue in the Austin neighborhood. His case was ruled a homicide today. He was pronounced dead at 10:32 a.m. Sunday at Mt. Sinai Hospital. An autopsy conducted today determined that Roberson died of a gunshot wound to his abdomen.



Deandre Murphy
26 years old
Murphy was fatally shot in the 1600 block of West 56th Street in the South Side's West Englewood neighborhood just after 3:45 p.m. Two others were also seriously wounded in this shooting. The victims were shot in at least one moving car that came to rest near 57th Street and Ashland Avenue. Murphy was dead on the scene.


Jerry Seals
34 years old
Police found Seals with a gunshot wound to his head at about 10:25 p.m. in the 6200 block of South Laflin Street in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m.


Andrew Hartrick
37 years old
At about 1 a.m., police responded to the 6400 block of South Paulina Avenue, also in Englewood, and found two men shot. Both men were in a vehicle when someone began shooting in their direction. Hartrick was struck in the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.


DeShawn McNeil
35 years old
The most recent homicide occurred at 5:06 a.m. this morning. McNeil was found dead in the 7900 block of South Ingleside Avenue in the East Chatham neighborhood after being shot in the chest. He was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m. at Jackson Park Hospital.

1 Dead, 9 Injured in Incidents Across the City Last Night

One man is dead and at least nine people were injured in separate violent city-wide incidents late Saturday and early this morning. These incidents included 6 shootings and 3 stabbings.


Paul Garrette
22 years old
At about 1 a.m. Garrette was discovered in a backyard in the 8400 block of South Cregier Avenue in the Stony Island Park neighborhood. He had been shot. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 1:59 a.m.

Update: Friday, July 2nd/Saturday July 3rd (2)

Friday, July 2nd


Walter Lampeley
28 years old
Lampeley was shot and killed at his home in the 2400 block of West Taylor Street in the West Side Lawndale neighborhood late this evening. At about 11:54 p.m., he was fighting another person when a vehicle pulled up, suspects exited, and shots were fired at him. Lampeley suffered a gunshot wound to his neck and was pronounced dead at 12:56 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Saturday, July 3nd


Xiaohong Song
50 years old
At 1:43 a.m., Song got off the bus following a trip to a casino boat and was approached by two male suspects in the 200 block of West 23rd Street in the Chinatown neighborhood. They grabbed him from behind and strangled him to death.

Week 5

click image for a much better view

This week, Chicago only saw 5 homicides (3 shot, 1 strangling, and 1 case of abuse). This number is relatively low in comparison to previous weeks. With the exception of 1-year-old Jamar Harris, the victims were older than average bringing the average age of death up to 26.5-years-old. The Taste of Chicago saw some violence last night with 3 stabbings. Police identified one of the victims as a known gang member. Let's hope that's it for the Taste.

I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July weekend.