Attempted murder charges have been filed against a man accused of shooting two police officers Sunday morning in Lawndale on the West Side.
Bruce Lua, 45, who was also shot in the incident, is also charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, Chicago police said.
Lua fired at the officers about 7:20 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Lawndale Avenue, police said. The officers were investigating a ShotSpotter alert and approached Lua in an alley.
An officer was shot in the hand and another in the leg and shoulder, above the protective vest, police said. One of the officers returned fire and struck Lua in the leg.
Both officers were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they were treated and released later Sunday morning.
Members of the police department salute the two wounded officers after they were discharged from Mount Sinai, May 16, 2021. Tom Schuba/Sun-Times
Lua was being treated at Stroger Hospital, where he remained in custody Monday, police said.
The officers began working for the department in 2017 and were expected to fully recover, officials said.
At a news briefing outside Mount Sinai after the shooting, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said, “Let’s be clear, this offender turned and immediately tried to kill these officers by firing a gun at them, hitting both of them. But for the good Lord’s grace that we’re not here talking about planning a funeral for our officers.”
The incident is being investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency that probes police shootings.
Lua is expected to appear at a bond hearing Tuesday.
Three people were killed and nine others were wounded in shootings Monday across Chicago.
— A man was fatally shot in East Garfield Park, police said. He was outside about 3:05 p.m. in the 300 block of North California Avenue when someone fired shots from a car, Chicago police said. The 42-year-old was struck in the abdomen and arm, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
— Another man was fatally shot early Monday while standing with a group of people in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side. The man, 24, was shot about 12:40 a.m. in the 6300 block of South Campbell Avenue when someone, possibly inside a silver sedan, fired at him, police said. He was struck in the upper chest and transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he died, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified the man. There was no description of the shooter and no one in custody, according to police.
— A person was killed in a shooting in West Pullman on the Far South Side, police said. Officers responded to a call of a person shot about 8:35 p.m. in the 12200 block of South Halsted Street and found a male unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, Chicago police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released his identity.
Other shootings:
— Police are investigating whether road-rage led to a shooting Monday morning that wounded a woman in Gresham on the South Side. The woman, 40, was driving in the 1300 block of West 87th Street when a silver minivan she didn’t recognize cut her off, according to police. Someone inside the van opened fire, striking the woman in the chest at about 10:50 a.m., police said. Another bullet was lodged in the woman’s car door. Paramedics took her to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was listed in “serious but stable” condition.
— A 15-year-old girl was shot and seriously wounded Monday in Washington Park on the South Side. She was walking a dog about 3:40 p.m. in front of a store in the 6100 block of South King Drive when a male on foot opened fire, striking the girl in the chest and arm, police said. The girl made her way down the street before collapsing, police said. She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition. Police said it wasn’t clear if the girl was the intended target. No arrests have been reported as Area One detectives investigate.
— A woman was shot in West Pullman on the Far South Side. About 4:25 p.m., the 59-year-old was in the 11700 block of South Elizabeth Street when she was shot in the wrist, police said. She was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition, police said.
— A man was hurt in a shooting Monday in East Garfield Park. About 5:55 p.m., the 31-year-old was grazed by a bullet in the 500 block of North Central Park Avenue, police said. He took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was in good condition, police said.
— Hours later, a woman was shot in Rosemoor on the South Side. She was inside of a residence about 8:40 p.m. in the 10100 block of South Rhodes Avenue when a male she knew opened fire, striking her in the leg, police said. The 40-year-old was taken to Roseland Community Hospital in good condition, police said.
— A man was shot in Englewood on the South Side. The 18-year-old was on the sidewalk about 9:30 p.m. in the 7200 block of South Sangamon Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the abdomen, police said. The man was dropped off at Holy Cross Hospital, and later transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was in good condition.
— A man was wounded in a shooting in Morgan Park on the South Side. He was walking about 8:05 p.m. in the 10900 block of South Peoria Street when someone opened fire, police said. The 26-year-old was struck in the hand and took himself to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was in good condition.
— A man was wounded in a shooting in Back of the Yards on the South Side. He was outside about 11:05 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Halsted Street when someone fired shots from a passing gray SUV, police said. The 22-year-old was struck in the hip and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition, police said.
— In the day’s first reported shooting, a man was shot early Monday morning at a gathering in Back of the Yards on the Southwest Side. The 31-year-old was outside at gathering about 1:30 a.m. in the 5400 block of South Marshfield Avenue when someone inside of a passing white sedan fired shots at him, police said. He was struck in the arm and went to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 27: Patrick Kane #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks controls the puck in front of Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders at the United Center on December 27, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Islanders 5-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
It is a shame that the Chicago Blackhawks weren’t able to play some of the East Division foes this season because those games are always a lot of fun. They will certainly play again in 2021-22 which should be interesting. We all know the Blackhawks didn’t make it to the playoffs this year but for some reason, Stan Bowman believes they are a good team. That might change this offseason which could cause the Blackhawks to become sellers.
The East Division has some teams that might make trades with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers missed the playoffs from the East. Those teams have trades to be made as well but the playoff teams (Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins) are more than likely in a better position to take advantage of the Blackhawks right now.
Chicago isn’t a good team and isn’t going to be a good team for a long time. The division will only get tougher next year when they realign back to their original divisions before COVID-19. The Seattle Kraken coming to the league is going to force the Arizona Coyotes into the Central which makes things even tougher. The Blackhawks, as constructed, should be in the last place of that division.
The 2022 NHL Draft is a very strong one. If the Hawks do things the right way, they can take advantage of that and get this rebuild started in the right direction. To do that, some trades might need to happen. These are three trades to consider with the East playoff teams:
When Tim DeRuyter arrived at Texas A&M as the Aggies’ new defensive coordinator in 2010, he had an unusual idea. He wanted his pass-rusher, a hybrid linebacker/defensive end, to have a bit of an edge to him out there on, well, the edge. He looked to Batman for inspiration.
“I think it ought to be called the Joker, but I don’t know,” DeRuyter told his staff. “You know, just somebody who’s got a little bit of a wild hair to him that can drive people nuts.”
The problem was that he wasn’t sure how a linebacker would take to essentially being labeled a clown. Charles McMillian, a holdover member of the defensive coaching staff who knew the star player destined for the position, quickly assuaged such concerns.
“Oh, it’s Von Miller,” DeRuyter recalled him saying. “It’s got to be the Joker.”
Sure enough, Miller embraced it on his way to winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker, and he became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. After a decade in which he became one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers and an eight-time Pro Bowler, Miller suffered a season-ending ankle injury last year that required surgery. He turned his scar into a Joker tattoo.
Ten years later, college football has more weird position names than ever, thanks to the need for so many new defensive packages to counter pass-happy offenses. Last season, there were more than 75,000 defensive snaps in college football games, according to Sports Info Solutions. Of those, there were five or more defensive backs on the field 92% of the time. Gone are the days of three or four linemen, three or four linebackers, two corners and two safeties. Browse depth charts now and you’ll find those staples, in addition to studs and stars, vipers and bandits, or snipers, strikers and flashes. Even a Bubo.
Terminology has always been subject to change or the whim of a coach. At Penn State in the 1950s, coach Rip Engle ran the 52 Monster defense with five defensive linemen and a strong safety known as a monster back. But Engle felt that was a derogatory term, so he opted to rename it the hero back, a tradition that lasted for decades.
But for the more technical types, the terminology was pretty standard. In a 4-3, the middle linebacker is the Mike. Will is on the weak side, Sam on the strong side. In a 3-4, there’s another linebacker, often called a Jack, and used as an edge pass-rusher.
In the early 1990s, the addition of a fifth defensive back, or nickel back, provided an opening for new names. Nick Saban, then an assistant to Bill Belichick in Cleveland, called his a star. Once a sixth defensive back was incorporated (a dime package), they called it the money back, sticking with the theme.
“The star really is the Sam, so he wanted an S-word for that position,” Saban explained in 2012. “When you put six guys in the game, whether it’s a sub linebacker or a sixth defensive back, we had nickel, dime, dollar. Different money terms. So we just started calling that the money position.”
There are stars everywhere now: Browsing every available FBS spring depth chart shows 14 teams that label it as a defined position, the most of any of the newfangled hybrid names. A few others are frequently used: bandit and buck are both rush linebacker names listed by 10 different teams, while rover is usually more of a linebacker/safety mix that’s just as common. But there is lots of mixing and matching going on, too. Navy lists a raider, a striker and a bandit. Florida State has a fox, a stud and a buck. BYU plays a cinco, a flash and a rover.
BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki attempted to explain how we got here.
“So really, the flash, nickel and cinco are all pretty much in the same spot on the field with different bodies,” he said, noting it’s a way to categorize players for different packages.
But this is how it happened: Dave Aranda, now head coach at Baylor, used cinco at Wisconsin when he was defensive coordinator. Chad Kauha’aha’a, who was the Badgers’ defensive line coach, brought it to Oregon State when Tuiaki worked there, and Tuiaki brought the name with him to BYU. Assistant head coach/safeties coach Ed Lamb called one of his safeties a flash when he was at Southern Utah. So head coach Kalani Sitake and Tuiaki took a position known as the stud that they used when they worked for Kyle Whittingham at Utah and renamed it the flash at BYU. Does all that make sense?
“We sit here and we scheme as coaches, and just talk ’round and ’round and finally make a decision and then we’re finally waiting to name it,” Tuiaki said. “That seems to be the hardest thing.”
Graduate assistants often help with the exhaustive research.
“If someone ever wrote a thesaurus that had words that start with S or W [for strong or weak] or R or L for right or left, you could make a bazillion dollars selling those to every football coach everywhere,” Miami coach Manny Diaz said. “You’d be amazed sometimes by the brainstorming sessions to come up with something that starts with one of those letters.”
In BYU’s case, there’s even a bit of a competitive element to it.
“Everybody’s fighting for the right to name something,” Tuiaki said. “I was an English major, Coach Lamb was an English major and Kalani is an English major, so we’re sitting in there really geeking out about what things should be called and why. I think it takes the way that we made things to a different level.”
Some take a more direct route and lean into school spirit. Starting in 1998 when he was head coach at New Mexico, Rocky Long played Brian Urlacher at a position called Lobo back, and the Lobos (Long returned as defensive coordinator last year) still use the name. One of Long’s former players and assistants, Zach Arnett, now the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, applied that technique in naming his version the Bulldog.
Across the country, depth charts feature bucks, dogs, spurs, bulls and macs. Georgia Southern has an anchor, Iowa a cash. Indiana has a husky and a bull. USF a leo.
The names don’t even necessarily mean the same spot on the field. Even at the same school. West Virginia‘s bandits in the early 2000s were safeties. Under current coach Neal Brown, bandits are more of a linebacker/defensive end mix.
Then there’s Temple, which has a linebacker known as the Bubo. To help explain, the Owls listed this asterisked notation in a recent media guide: “BUBO is a type of owl, considered as the biggest, strongest and most ferocious.”
And who wouldn’t want to be the most ferocious owl of them all?
Or perhaps you’d rather be named for a deadly serpent. Under former defensive coordinator Don Brown, Michigan employed a viper, played most notably by Jabrill Peppers, who became a Heisman finalist. When defensive line coach Greg Mattison left to become Ohio State‘s defensive coordinator, he instituted a similar position known as a bullet, a nod to the Buckeyes’ “Silver Bullet” nickname for their defense. It would be unseemly to have the same name at those two schools, after all.
Those are two examples of the more aggressive-sounding terminology, which seems to be the way things are trending. Troy and West Virginia have a position called the spear. Under Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia has occasionally played someone at sabre (named for the swords on its logo). Former USC defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast called his edge rusher a predator.
We’ll hear plenty about the Joker this year. In his first season at Oregon, DeRuyter again has his perfect fit at the position in Kayvon Thibodeaux, the country’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2019, who said he wants to win the Heisman this season. Being seen as a specialized defender in Miller’s old role sure won’t hurt.
And really, why pitch a recruit on being a linebacker when you can pitch them on being a striker instead?
“You want to act like you’ve got a cool job,” Diaz said. “No one wants to be the poodle.”
So that must have been why he went with strikers a few years ago for his hybrid linebacker/safeties, right?
“It was actually funny, [in spring 2018] we had been debating a bunch of names and striker had come about,” he said. “They interviewed one of the kids who was playing that position. And he’s like, ‘Yeah, they’ve got me playing the striker position now.’
“So we said, ‘Well, I guess we have to call it the striker now.’ Once it had kind of seen the light of day, there was no going back.”
Tom Bradley, who played the hero back position at Penn State and later coached it as a longtime assistant there, called Takkarist McKinley, who went on to be a first-round pick, a razor when he was UCLA’s defensive coordinator. Must be a cool story there.
“I don’t remember why,” Bradley said. “It was just a name somebody came up with and I said, ‘OK, that’s good.'”
No matter how all these names arrived, every coach agreed they’re here to stay, with possibly even more personalization. But all of this is happening by the defensive coaches. Offenses still have wide receivers, running backs and tight ends. The one spot where customization is starting to creep in is at H-back, the hybrid tight end/fullback spot. Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern labeled his superbacks. At Oklahoma State, they’re known as Cowboy backs.
Lincoln Riley notes that Oklahoma is “probably the most normal team in America,” keeping things pretty standard by calling their rush linebacker “the rush linebacker.” But he has heard appeals from his own players and said maybe a time will come when he’ll trick up the name for his H-backs as well, a position he utilizes quite a bit.
“You know what, they actually suggested that,” he said. “It’s been brought up every now and then. And maybe we can have a cooler name than the H-backs. If we were going to change one offensively, that would be the one. After they read this, I gotta come up with something.”
Mississippi State coach Mike Leach, who certainly has gotten plenty of mileage out of branding his offense the Air Raid back at Iowa Wesleyan, understands the appeal of a catchy label.
“Let’s get everybody excited,” Leach said. “By God, we got a thingamajig out here, so how are they gonna possibly survive that? It does kind of keep it exciting.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to start rethinking names for his inside and outside receivers.
“We’ve either got to do a cool name or just recognize the fact that those defensive guys have more time on their hands, and certainly amuse themselves in a wholesome activity like changing names,” he said.
Tuiaki laughed when asked what the difference was between a nickel and a cinco, if they both were merely synonyms for the number five.
“I never even thought about the play on nickel and cinco until you just said it now,” he said. “We probably need to get a little bit more aggressive with our words so that you go, ‘Hey listen, you are going to be a Terminator!'”
At Coastal Carolina, defensive coordinator Chad Staggs can see why creative names could appeal to recruits, but he isn’t sure it’s worth all the trouble.
“I think people will start labeling things to fire people up in the recruiting process,” he said. “But if you sit here and say I’m gonna change this to call it this name and we’re gonna revamp every letter in the playbook and redo everything and learn to call it that … it’ll probably help us but that’s a lot of work for coolness.“
But he might be open to reinterpreting his current terminology.
“It’d be cool,” Gallagher said. “All the Mikes on the team would have to start going with the mullet. Because you can’t go on the field as the mullet and not have a mullet, you know?”
The 42-year-old was struck in the abdomen and arm, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Another man was fatally shot early Monday morning while standing with a group of people in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side.
The man, 24, was shot about 12:40 a.m. in the 6300 block of South Campbell Avenue when someone, possibly inside a silver sedan, fired at him, police said.
He was struck in the upper chest and transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he died, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified the man.
There was no description of the shooter and no one in custody, according to police.
A person was killed in a shooting in West Pullman on the Far South Side, police said.
Officers responded to a call of a person shot about 8:35 p.m. in the 12200 block of South Halsted Street and found a male unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, Chicago police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released his identity.
In nonfatal shootings, Chicago police are investigating whether road-rage led to a shooting Monday morning that wounded a woman in Gresham on the South Side.
The woman, 40, was driving in the 1300 block of West 87th Street when a silver minivan she didn’t recognize cut her off, according to police.
Someone inside the van opened fire, striking the woman in the chest at about 10:50 a.m., police said. Another bullet was lodged in the woman’s car door.
Paramedics took her to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was listed in “serious but stable” condition.
A 15-year-old girl is in critical condition after being shot Monday in Washington Park on the South Side.
She was walking a dog about 3:40 p.m. in front of a store in the 6100 block of South King Drive when a male on foot opened fire, striking the girl in the chest and arm, police said.
The girl made her way down the street before collapsing, police said. She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
Police said it wasn’t clear if the girl was the intended target. No arrests have been reported as Area One detectives investigate.
A woman was shot in West Pullman on the Far South Side.
About 4:25 p.m., the 59-year-old was in the 11700 block of South Elizabeth Street when she was shot in the wrist, police said. She was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition, police said.
A man was hurt in a shooting Monday in East Garfield Park.
About 5:55 p.m., the 31-year-old was grazed by a bullet in the 500 block of North Central Park Avenue, police said. He took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was in good condition, police said.
Hours later, woman was shot in Rosemoor on the South Side.
She was inside of a residence about 8:40 p.m. in the 10100 block of South Rhodes Avenue when a male she knew opened fire, striking her in the leg, police said.
The 40-year-old was taken to Roseland Community Hospital in good condition, police said.
A man was shot in Englewood on the South Side.
The 18-year-old was on the sidewalk about 9:30 p.m. in the 7200 block of South Sangamon Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the abdomen, police said. The man was dropped off at Holy Cross Hospital, and later transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was in good condition.
A man was wounded in a shooting in Morgan Park on the South Side.
He was walking about 8:05 p.m. in the 10900 block of South Peoria Street when someone opened fire, police said. The 26-year-old was struck in the hand and took himself to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was in good condition.
A man was wounded in a shooting in Back of the Yards on the South Side.
He was outside about 11:05 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Halsted Street when someone fired shots from a passing gray SUV, police said.
The 22-year-old was struck in the hip and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition, police said.
In the day’s first reported shooting, a man was shot early Monday morning at a gathering in Back of the Yards on the Southwest Side.
The 31-year-old was outside at gathering about 1:30 a.m. in the 5400 block of South Marshfield Avenue when someone inside of a passing white sedan fired shots at him, police said.
He was struck in the arm and went to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Leo.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Your kids might be more of a handful because they’re a bit rebellious. Nevertheless, be vigilant because this is also an accident-prone day for your kids, as well as an accident-prone day for sports in general. A social event might be cancelled or — you might receive a surprise invitation. Go figure.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Something will interrupt your home routine today. Let’s hope it’s not a broken appliance. (Happened to me.) It could be a minor breakage or someone unexpected might knock on your door. Something will be different. Get dressed.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Be careful and be mindful because this is an accident-prone day for your sign. We’re talking verbal accidents or physical accidents because something unexpected will change your daily routine. On the upside, new ideas, new faces and new places might be stimulating. (Hopefully not a hospital.)
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You are never casual about money, which means it is in your best interests to keep your eyes open because something unexpected will affect your cash flow, earnings, or possessions. You might find money; you might lose money. Perhaps something you own will be damaged or lost? Forewarned is forearmed.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
The moon is in your sign at odds with unpredictable Uranus, which can make you hasty, impulsive, careless and quick to jump to conclusions. (Yikes!) No matter what you do today, you’ll have a strong craving for excitement. (Don’t do anything you will regret.)
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
This is a restless day for you. You feel vaguely distracted by something, and you might not even know what it is. (Or you might know.) Fortunately, this is a fleeting influence that will pass quickly. Tomorrow is a solid day with a brief moon alert midday. Relax.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
A friend might surprise you by saying or doing something you least expect. Or possibly, you will encounter someone new who is unusual in some way — avant-garde or Bohemian? (Or maybe you are Bohemian and they are conservative?) It’s all relative.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You might have difficulty dealing with a parent, supervisor, boss or the police because authority figures will be a source of surprise for you today. (“Busted!”) If something happens, be cool. Do not be lippy. Never forget the power of courtesy.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Something will surprise you today. For starters, travel plans might be changed or canceled. Alternatively, you might suddenly have to travel when you did not expect to do so. School plans might change along with medical and legal schedules. Stay alert.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Be mindful in all your discussions about shared property, taxes, debt, insurance issues and inheritances because something unexpected will affect these areas. Therefore, stay on top of your game so that you don’t lose money. Remember: What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Because you feel so independent today, you might do the exact opposite of what someone suggests, or you might reject what someone says simply because they said it. (By nature, you are a rebel who marches to the beat of your own drum.)
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is full of a few surprises. Therefore, be careful with your pet because one of your surprises might be related to your pet. Avoid accidents. Your health might also be the source of a surprise. However, you can expect the unexpected with your job or any work that you do. Computer glitches and problems with technology are likely.
If Your Birthday Is Today
Actress, comedian, writer, producer Tina Fey (1970) shares your birthday. It’s fortunate that you have high energy because you are multitalented and fascinated by many things. You are compassionate, caring and genuinely interested in others. You are both practical and impulsive. At this stage in your life, you’re entering an entirely new cycle. It is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Open any door!
People may feel sorry for stray cats, but they also should feel sorry for the birds who will be killed by the cats | Sun-Times
Maybe city should rethink its short-sighted rat-removal program
Imagine you’re a human (hope that’s not a reach), and saber-toothed tigers are stalking you when you leave the house, and you don’t have a weapon.
Here are some stats on saber-toothed tigers: eight feet long, 600 pounds, seven-inch fangs and heads like basketballs. They ate big mammals but have been extinct for 10,000 years. Phew!
But my point is that a saber-toothed tiger would be to you as a house cat is to a songbird.
We like songbirds, don’t we? The little fellows in your backyard?
Birds repopulate quickly, but since 1970, North America has lost a quarter of its bird population — roughly 3 billion birds — to all kinds of trauma. Count climate change, pesticides, loss of habitat, collisions with glass buildings, windmills and cars as part of the reason.
Then there are cats.
Cats — those pets we Americans absolutely love, to the tune of roughly 100 million of the little preciouses — kill, according to the American Bird Conservancy, 2.4 billion birds a year in the U.S.
No, not all the deaths in that total are songbirds. Migratory birds, waterbirds and raptors are in jeopardy, too, from many forces.
But house cats (about 18 inches long, 10 pounds on average) when let out are pure lurking death for the type of bird we see and hear on a daily basis. Indeed, as the Conservancy states, “Predation by domestic cats is the number-one direct, human-caused threat to birds in the United States.’’
Remember, 2.4 billion birds. Think about that. It’s seven times the human population of the U.S., year after year. And almost 70% of that carnage is from outdoor, unowned cats.
This is why the well-intentioned release in Chicago of feral cats for rat-killing purposes is as dimwitted as it is pie-eyed.
You see, loose cats might kill a rat or two, but they’ll kill approximately 18 birds in the process. Rats are tough, nasty, disgusting, stealthy. Birds are sweet, chirping, well, sitting ducks.
It is true Chicago has been declared the ‘‘rattiest city’’ in the U.S. for the sixth straight year by the Orkin pest-control company, and we must do something about our vermin population.
But not this way.
Sure, it sounds good, this so called Cats at Work program. The Tree House Humane Society, which bills itself as ‘‘Chicago’s oldest cage-free cat shelter,’’ is placing 10-15 neutered and feral — read: homeless — cats in various locations around the city and has been for almost a decade.
The society provides a small outdoor, heated house, water and food to the ‘‘owners’’ of these street cats that otherwise likely would be euthanized.
The program is nice for the cats — 1,000 of which have been placed so far — but birds? Not so much.
In fact, studies have shown cats are not all that interested in rats. They’ll snag mice and chipmunks and shrews and voles and frogs and rabbits. Rats? Maybe.
But birds? Now that’s dinner!
The problem here is that cats are, per the Journal of Nature Communication, ‘‘natural born killers.’’
An article I’ve saved from the October 2016 issue of Smithsonian Magazine entitled, “A Plague of House Cats,’’ states baldly that cats are ‘‘the world’s most devastating invasive species.’’
The reason is that house cats, once from the Near East, while partially domesticated, retain all the killing tools of big cats. They haven’t undergone the deep metamorphosis that dogs and pigs and other domesticated animals have. They have retractable claws, sharp teeth, can climb trees and jump like panthers.
They can see in the ultraviolet, hear in the ultrasound and have an incredible understanding of three-dimensional space that allows them to judge the height of sounds.
Oh, and they always — always — land safely on their feet. Did you happen to see the cat that jumped from a flaming fifth-story Chicago apartment the other day — and walked away? There you go.
Nor does it matter if the outdoor cat wears a bell, is well-fed, is a tabby, solid color, furry or sleek. Cats want to kill something. All the time.
Pest control gone wrong has a long history. Consider harlequin ladybirds, poison toads, mosquitofish and, my favorite, the Asian mongoose, introduced to Hawaii to eat rats, even though it prefers — that’s right — birds instead.
You cat lovers never have to worry about cats dying out, by the way. They can breed at six months, and it’s estimated one amorous pair, unimpeded, could produce 354,000 descendants in five years.
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