Police concluded that Aldridge was not the intended target. Police said the brothers were aiming for a ride-share driver. So far this month, 70 people have been killed by gun violence in Chicago with 435 gun-related homicides this year.
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The murder has proved especially significant for Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson who has long called for stricter punishments and longer sentences for offenders as a way to help fight his city’s rising crime rates.
One of the suspects had been released from prison two weeks before the murder and had six felonies on his record.
Derren Sorells is a documented member of the Gangster Disciples and was out on parole, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielm said on Twitter.
“Her life was cut short”, Johnson said.
Wade, a 12-time All-Star guard who recently left the Miami Heat to sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls, mourned his cousin’s passing on Twitter.
Nykea Aldridge, a cousin of National Basketball Association star Dwyane Wade, died less than an hour after sustaining a pair of gunshot wounds, the result of two paroled brothers with gang ties opening fire in the street. Police have also already recovered 6,000 illegally possessed guns off the streets of Chicago this year.
Trump issued a followup tweet about an hour later, saying Wade and his family were “in my thoughts and prayers”. How many of their names do we know? Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!” In a following tweet, he added: “These young kids are screaming for help!
The Republican vice presidential nominee would not answer direct questions Sunday about guns from IN coming into Chicago during CNN’s “State of the Union” show.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was accused of using the tragedy to try to score political points.
Aldridge was shot and killed while pushing a baby stroller Friday afternoon in the South Side Parkway Gardens neighborhood. “Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough”, he tweeted Friday.
Johnson also said that Chicago residents should be frustrated and hopes that the arrests bring some sort of closure for the Aldridge and Wade families. Deputy Chief James Jones said the altercation between the men had nothing to do with her. “You have a mother who was trying to enroll her children at school”.
Outside the emergency room where Aldridge was pronounced dead, Jolinda Wade clutched her sister and spoke for the family as mourners stood in a circle holding hands and praying.
Aldridge’s “short life [stood] as an example for the clear failure of the criminal justice system”, Chicago Police Supt. Last year, the police department said it confiscated almost 7,000 illegal guns. Family members are caring for the baby, who wasn’t hurt.
Aldridge was a 32-year-old mother of four.
But in the wake of her personal loss, she remained determined. “We’re still going to help empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head”.
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Aldridge died about 45 minutes after she was shot in the head and arm.
