Chicago's Deadly Weekend: 7 Lives Cut Short, Including Teens on the Brink of New School Year; Over 3 Dozen Wounded

A wave of violence swept through Chicago's streets over the weekend, leaving a tragic total of seven people dead, including three teenagers about to embark on a new school year, and wounding more than three dozen others.

The fatalities included two students excitedly prepared to return to school on Monday.

14-year-old Rayjohn, a basketball enthusiast, fell victim to gunfire in the 8700 block of South Cregier Avenue on Saturday evening, succumbing to fatal wounds inflicted to his head and chest at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Rayjohn was going to be somebody; he had his future stolen from him at such a tender age, as his aunt Athena Harshaw shared with a local news station.

As the violent weekend unfolded, Galewood Park witnessed the shooting of a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl on Saturday. Despite receiving gunshot wounds to the right leg, the boy is in stable condition.

However, Ashuntice Wilburn, who was shot in the buttocks, could not survive the violence, and her life was cut short before she could even start her senior year at Schurz High School.

These tragic incidents were met with profound grief by the Chicago Public Schools, as they conveyed their thoughts and condolences for those affected by this devastating loss of young lives.

The third teenager, an 18-year-old male who was a passenger in a vehicle, fell victim to an act of senseless violence, as unknown assailants discharged multiple rounds into the vehicle they were in on Friday night. Despite immediate medical attention at Mt. Sinai Hospital, he could not pull through.

None of the suspects in any of these life-altering incidents have yet been apprehended.

Local news outlets have reported that the violence did not just claim young lives, as the count of shooting victims citywide rose to 38 with seven fatal outcomes over the weekend.

Further bloody incidents took place over the weekend which saw more victims of gun violence, including an unidentified man in his 30s, a 24-year-old gunned down at a traffic light, and a 16-year-old caught in the crossfire by the sidewalk.

Among the wounded, a 19-year-old man was targeted by an unidentified motorcyclist, leaving him in critical condition with a bullet wound to his neck.

An 18-year-old also remains in critical condition after being shot in the legs within an apartment in the 5900 Block of South King Drive.