A man was shot in the head and killed, and a 20-year-old was shot in the thigh, during a shooting early Sunday morning on Chicago's South Side. Police found both victims on the 6600 block of South Champlain Avenue in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, and both were rushed to the same hospital, where one of them died.
Officers responded to the scene around 2:40 a.m., according to ABC7 Chicago, which reported that officers found two men who had been shot. One man suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the station reported. As of Sunday, FOX 32 Chicago reported that authorities had not yet identified the victim who died.
The second victim, a 20-year-old man, was shot in the thigh and also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Accounts of his condition differ: ABC7 Chicago reported police said he was in fair condition, while FOX 32 Chicago reported he was listed in good condition. CBS Chicago reported that no additional details were available as of Sunday.
Detectives Investigating, No Arrests Announced
Area detectives are investigating the shooting, per the ABC7 Chicago report. No arrests have been announced in connection with the case, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which noted that no arrests had been announced in any of the weekend's homicides citywide.
West Woodlawn has seen gun violence before. In 2018, six people were shot, one fatally, in an early-morning shooting in the neighborhood, according to the Sun-Times. More recently, a 15-year-old was shot three times in the arm and stomach during a drive-by shooting in West Woodlawn, CBS News reported.
A Citywide Pattern of Rising Shootings
The shooting adds to a year in which Chicago has seen more gun violence than in 2025's historic lows, even as some other crime categories have fallen. Through the first four months of 2026, the city recorded 130 homicides, up from 120 during the same stretch of 2025, according to WTTW News. Shootings were up 5% and shooting victims were up 9% over the same period, the outlet reported, while robberies, armed robberies, burglaries and carjackings all declined year-to-date. Police recovered more than 3,000 illegal firearms so far this year, averaging 29 a day in April alone, per the same report.
More recent citywide figures show a mixed picture. The Chicago Tribune's homicide tracker counted 335 homicide victims through Oct. 10, eight fewer than the same point in 2025, with most victims killed by gunshot. The Tribune noted that 2025 marked the city's fourth consecutive year of declining homicides. Citywide, the Austin neighborhood has recorded the most homicides of any community area so far this year, with 28, according to the Tribune.
