Gunman claims Uptown’s first homicide victim of the year

The shooting took place near the garage on the left side of this photo. | Google

A young man coasted up the 4600 block of Clifton Avenue shortly after 8 o’clock this sunny, quiet Sunday morning, stopping his kick bike only briefly next to a maroon Buick that was parked on the street. There, he repeatedly shot the man in the driver’s seat in the head before he continued on his way north, a grayish-brown hoodie pulled tightly around his face. No calls of “shots fired” were made. Police were notified only after a passer-by dialed 911 to express concern about a man who was sitting in a car, bleeding.

And so went Uptown’s first homicide of the year.

Sunday’s shooting unfolded on an old industrial stretch of Clifton Avenue, across the street from Cornerstone Community Center.

The victim, identified by a source as 33-year-old Dennis Thomas Jr, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said a witness described the shooter as a 20-year-old black male on a kick bike.

Thomas is the first person to be killed in Uptown this year. The neighborhood had recorded four homicides at this point last year. So far in 2018, there have been twelve shooting victims in Uptown, down from sixteen at this time last year.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com