Residents of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood have struggled for years to erase the area’s reputation as a haven for violence, drugs and gangs. Working together, a band of community groups and concerned residents have tried with some success to keep the neighborhood’s delicate fabric from completely fraying.
But two separate killings, one late Monday and the other early Tuesday, have sparked new concern among some in the West Side community who say they are tired of taking one step forward and then two steps back. The first shooting, involving a gang member, also has raised some fears of retaliation.
Gathered on the corner of Lotus Avenue and Washington Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon, nearly 20 Austin community activists and residents stood with voices and signs raised: “End the violence. Stop the killing.”
“I have four children–two sons,” said Gloria Lewis, director of the Austin Violence Prevention Consortium, a group of citizens working to develop peace in the area. “I want them to be able to go outside and be safe.”
About 11:20 p.m. Monday, a hail of bullets claimed the life of 30-year-old Antonio Hudson. A spokeswoman for the Chicago Crime Commission said Hudson was a regent, or a mid-level leader, in the Black Disciples street gang.
Witnesses told police Hudson was standing outside with friends in the 5400 block of West Haddon Avenue when a man they didn’t know approached with a chrome handgun at his side.
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At that point, Hudson and a friendran, jumped two fences and sprinted down an alley that runs through a block of brick bungalows between West Thomas Street and West Haddon Avenue, police said. Hudson tripped, but his friend continued running, police added.
Neighbors said they heard six to eight shots, which they mistook for fireworks. Hudson was shot once in the chest, police said.
It was unclear whether the shooting itself was gang-related.
A few blocks away, about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Larion Jackson was shot in the head as he played cards on a friend’s porch in the 500 block of North Laramie Avenue, police said.
A small group of men approached the card game and two of them began shooting–one with a sawed-off shotgun and the other with a .45-caliber handgun, police said.
A witness told police the men fled in an older-model, tan Buick.
Police Department spokesman Patrick Camden could not say Tuesday whether Jackson was affiliated with a gang.
No one was in custody Tuesday evening in either shooting.
“These killings have gotta stop,” said Leola Spann, president of the Northwest Austin Council. “The guns and all that stuff have got to stop. We can’t continue to just sit back and let these things go by. We are looking for ways to put a stop to this.”
The group was joined Tuesday afternoon by Chicago police officers.
“There’s a lot of violence in the streets in this area,” said Chicago police Lt. Thomas Tranckitello, who noted that one of the biggest problems is drug dealing. “(Residents) are getting fed up with the killing.”
Many residents and groups already have come together under the Austin Violence Prevention Consortium.
A brainstorming summit is scheduled for Friday, according to Rev. Lewis Flowers of the Westside Ministers Coalition.
“We will solve this problem,” Flowers said.
The consortium already has sought the advice and guidance of law enforcement officials in Boston, where proponents say a zero tolerance initiative has resulted in a 2 1/2-year period with no youth murders.
“We hope that we can duplicate a similar program here,” Spann said.
Gerald Simmons, 28, like many who watched intensely as Lewis, Spann and the others held court at Lotus and Washington, said he was glad to see there are some people still willing to fight.
“It’s hard trying to deal with all this mess on the street, so a lot of people give up,” Simmons said. “I hope we can all turn things around–everybody.”
“We are committed to making a difference, that’s why we are here,” Lewis said. “We can’t afford to give up.”