CHICAGO _ In seconds, North Karlov turned into a battleground. Four people shot, cars smashed up, shell casings all over the street.
Lori Pierson got to the window in time to see gunmen still firing near Iowa Street and Karlov Avenue in the West Side neighborhood. She called 911 and huddled with Chicago police officers who promised someone would get back to her.
For nearly four months, Pierson did not hear from anyone. The shooting remains unsolved, like dozens of others from the first weekend in August, when at least 75 people were shot _ the most violent weekend in Chicago in years.
She and her neighbors were left to wonder what was being done to keep their neighborhood from becoming more dangerous. Were they losing ground in this community of Dutch colonial-style homes that some call their "Oak Park"?
"I appreciate the work police officers do," Pierson said. "They have the hardest job. Police officers and teachers. They are always under a microscope. They are always under scrutiny. I can't even fathom how hard it is to be a Chicago police officer in Chicago at this time.
"But it is still," she said, her voice trailing off. "This is our community. It's frustrating, of course. It's disappointing."
The lack of progress, and the rise in fear, bring home some of the consequences of the Chicago Police Department's yearslong struggle with clearing cases.
The department's record for solving shootings that were not fatal was 15 percent in 2017. But that includes shootings that happened in prior years. When you look at just shootings in the calendar year, the clearance rate falls to 7 percent.
For the weekend in early August, at least three people have been arrested so far. The Chicago Tribune has been examining what happened over those three days and in the months since, hoping to shed light on the challenges of solving crime and how failing to clear cases impacts the cycle of violence.
Across the city, a strong strain of resignation and suspicion surfaces in interviews with victims, witnesses and neighbors about that weekend.
While some of the same frustrations are felt on North Karlov, neighbors also speak of spirit and pride. And they clearly want more from their Police Department.
"Resources, information and community respect," summed up Sue Lenzen, a local community beat rep.
Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the surge of violence that weekend, especially during the early Sunday hours, could explain why an investigator didn't speak with Pierson. But he told the Tribune that someone should have called her.
"We've got to take ownership of what we didn't do right," he said. "And that should be reconciled."
