Former Washington High School basketball star Michael Haynes became the latest victim of Chicago's bloody summer on Thursday evening when the 22-year old was murdered on the South Side. It's a tragic bit of news. Haynes was reportedly shot dead as he attempted to resolve a fight over a stolen necklace just months before he was set to enroll at Iona to play basketball.
Perhaps saddest of all of how relatively unsurprising this type of story has become in Chicago recently. According to one report, our city is on pace to reach 504 murders if the trend continues for the rest of the year. That's 42 murders per month. This needs to stop.
Haynes basketball career might best be remembered for what he did as a high school sophomore. That was the season Haynes teamed with Kentucky recruit DeAndre Liggins to give Washington a menacing one-two punch few teams could match up with. Washington made it all the way to the city championship before falling to Derrick Rose's Simeon Wolverines.
The Chicago Sun-Times has done a great job in breaking and covering this story. Head there for additional coverage.