Three recent incidents of guns fired, two of which involved men being shot, pushed the total number of gunfire incidents reported in Elgin this year to 55 — 31% more than the same time last year, according to Elgin police data.
Police Chief Ana Lalley said they are responding to the escalation by continuing “to work with law enforcement partners, conduct direct patrols, conduct briefing meetings internally to discuss cases and strategy, and continue to utilize a data-driven approach to patterns and gunfire incidents to assist in our strategy.”
The latest spate of shootings started about 10 p.m. Oct. 4, when police responded to a report of shots fired in the 400 block of Ann Street. Only an hour and a half later, a man was shot in the 600 block of St. Charles Street and arrived at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Twenty-four hours later, police responded to another report of shots fired, this time involving a man being injured in the 1200 block of Fleetwood Drive, reports said.
All of the cases remain under investigation, Lalley said Friday on her weekly Fridays with the Finest radio show on WRMN-AM (1410).
Given that there were 42 gunshot incidents reported at this time last year and 52 total for 2023, the fact that this year’s number is already 55 is concerning, she said.
Elgin had a total of 15 gunshot victims in 2023. This year, the tally so far is 12, she said.
The highest number of gunfire incidents reported in the city was 66 in 2021. The lowest was 28 in 2017, data shows.
Of the cases they’ve had this year, the department has made arrests in 25% of them, Lalley said. Sixteen remain under investigation, 22 are unsolved and a handful involved murder-suicides or were closed administratively for different reasons, she said.
The unsolved cases involve situations in which shell casings have been recovered or involve property damage linked to gunfire, Lalley said.
“It’s important that when we talk about shots fired data to give context of what’s happening with the cases,” the chief said.
The number of murders in Elgin so far this year is six, compared to five last year, data shows.
The most recent occurred Saturday in the 1000 block of Cedar Avenue. While no details on the victim have been released, 21-year-old Anderson A. Contreras, of the 700 block of Dundee Avenue, Elgin, has been arrested on three counts first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
