Southwest
Venezuelan migrant boy died from sepsis at Chicago warehouse-turned-shelter: autopsy report
A 5-year-old Venezuelan migrant boy who became ill at a migrant shelter in Chicago before Christmas and then passed away died from sepsis and a bacterial infection that causes strep throat, an autopsy released Friday shows.
Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero tragically died on Dec. 17 with a case of Group A Strep, which can cause strep throat and other life-threatening illnesses, according to an autopsy released by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Sepsis can lead to serious complications in as little as 24 hours.
Martinez was a resident at a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood when he returned to the building with his family and suffered a medical emergency. About 2,300 people had been staying at the Pilsen shelter, near downtown.
Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, left, who died from sepsis, and candles at his vigil, right. (Matt DeMateo and )
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Despite immediate first aid by shelter staff, which included chest compressions, Martinez Rivero died at Comer Children’s Hospital, according to FOX 32. Contributing factors in his death were listed as COVID-19, adenovirus and rhinovirus.
Martinez came from Venezuela to Chicago with his family about a month before he died, according to ABC7.
The boy’s death revived concerns about conditions at shelters and questions about how Chicago was responding to an influx of people unaccustomed to the city’s cold winters and with few local contacts. Chicago and other northern U.S. cities have struggled to find housing for tens of thousands of asylum-seekers, many of whom have been bused from Texas throughout the last year.
At the time of his death, the space had about 10 isolation rooms for when people get sick, Dr. Evelyn Figueroa told Fox 32.
“These are hard environments for people to rest and feel good and be able to take care of themselves,” said Figueroa, who toured the building and runs a nearby food pantry and has spent most of her medical career working with homeless, immigrant and low-income populations.
A woman and child get emotional while attending a vigil for 5-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, who died at a shelter in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement early Saturday expressing his condolences.
This is a tragic loss, and we appreciate the work of community partners supporting the Martínez Rivero family during this difficult time,” Johnson said.
“The City of Chicago coordinates medical screenings for all shelter residents, weekly on-site provider support, on-site vaccination events for COVID, varicella, and flu, and partnerships with a network of community health centers for other healthcare needs.”
“All shelter residents are offered comprehensive medical examinations and care.”
More than 35,000 migrants have been transported to Chicago and its suburbs over the past year and a half. Despite this influx, recent data from the city indicates a decline in the number of migrants staying at shelters, with figures dropping to their lowest point in months, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has been in his role for just seven months now. On Monday, Johnson blasted a reporter for asking about how he plans to address the migrant crisis in his city.
Earlier this month, hundreds of asylum-seekers still awaited placement at airports and police stations in Chicago, some of them still camped on sidewalks outside precinct buildings.
As of Tuesday, the number of migrants in shelters has fallen below 13,000, marking a decrease from peaks observed in mid and early January, when the count reached nearly 15,000.
The autopsy report comes just days after the state of Illinois and Cook County announced plans to allocate up to an additional $252 million to house, feed and provide other services to illegal immigrants arriving in Chicago this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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