2 men murdered in West Side carwash shooting

Two men were fatally shot on Friday night at around 9:30 P.M. while they were in front of a car wash on the 5200 block of West Lake Street.

The two victims were standing on the sidewalk in front of the car wash when a gunman approached and opened fire. Antonio Cole, 28, of the 800 block of North Keystone Avenue, was killed at the scene, and Lenneth Suggs, 34, of the 300 block of North Laramie Avenue, survived for a short while but then died at Mt. Sinai Hospital.  The shooter has not been apprehended and police are investigating.

Once again, we have a case in which  a murderer had no problem violating the Chicago handgun ban.  I can't help but wonder whether one of these two victims might be alive now if they had been able to defend themselves while at the car wash, like this person was able to do? That question, of course, is one for which we will never have an answer.  But what I do know is that Chicago's crime is out of control, making our city the "murder capitol" of the United States at a time when other large cities are showing decreases in crime.  It is time to take a fresh look at our crime prevention strategy in Chicago, rather than naively thinking that the handgun ban is some cure-all for crime.