This photo released by Costa Rica's Public Safety Ministry shows people standing at the site of a plane crash near in Punta Islita, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. A government statement says there were 10 foreigners and two Costa Rican crew members aboard the plane belonging to Nature Air, which had taken off nearby. (Costa Rica's Public Safety Ministry via AP)
This photo released by Costa Rica's Public Safety Ministry shows people standing at the site of a plane crash near in Punta Islita, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. A government statement says there were 10 foreigners and two Costa Rican crew members aboard the plane belonging to Nature Air, which had taken off nearby. (Costa Rica's Public Safety Ministry via AP) Credit: Costa Rica's Public Safety Ministry

Chicago Sees Drop in Homicides, Shootings in 2017

Chicago — Chicago ended 2017 with fewer homicides than the year before, but gang violence in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods kept the total number of killings above the 600 mark for only the second time in more than a decade.

The Chicago Police Department released statistics Monday that show the number of homicides fell from 771 in 2016 to 650 last year. The number of shootings dropped from 3,550 to 2,785 during the same period.

Although the drops were significant, the homicide total in a repeat of 2016 eclipsed the number of killings in New York City and Los Angeles combined.

“You still have to start with the fact that 600 people dead in Chicago is a hell of a lot of people to be dead in one year,” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch, whose church is in one of the most violent neighborhoods on the city’s West Side.

Still, the drops — and the reasons behind the lower numbers — have police and others optimistic that some of their efforts will lead to more declines over the next year.

Families From Florida, N.Y. Die in Costa Rica Plane Crash

San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rican investigators are looking into what caused a charter aircraft to crash in woods in the country’s northwest soon after takeoff, killing two crew members and 10 U.S. citizens, including families from New York and Florida.

The families from the New York City suburb of Scarsdale and from Belleair, Fla., accounted for nine of the dead and were part of a tour organized by Berkeley, California-based Backroads. Their American guide was the 10th U.S. victim.

Costa Rican officials had said they were still seeking to establish the names of the Americans who died when the Nature Air plane went down at midday Sunday in Guanacaste.

But back at home, stunned family and friends began to confirm the victims’ identities.

A family in the suburbs of New York City said five of the dead were relatives on vacation. They identified them as Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons Matthew, William and Zachary, all of Scarsdale.

Teen Fatally Shoots Parents, Sister and Family Friend in N.J.

Long Branch, N.J. — A 16-year-old armed with a semiautomatic assault rifle fatally shot his parents, sister and a family friend in a gruesome burst of violence that took place just before the start of the New Year, officials in New Jersey said Monday.

The teenager, who was not identified, was taken into custody by the police and is expected to be charged with four counts of murder, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said at a news conference on Monday morning.

The incident unfolded around 11:43 p.m. at the family’s house in Long Branch, a small beachside town about 45 minutes south of Newark. Officials did not say what sparked the outburst.

The emergency call came from within the house, Gramiccioni said. The teenager’s grandfather and brother were able to escape; officials do not believe they were targeted.

All four victims died on the scene, Gramiccioni said. They were identified as Steven and Linda Kologi, 44 and 42; Britney Kologi, 18, the suspect’s sister; and Mary Shultz, 70, a family friend who lived in the house.

U.S. General, Citing Gains, Warns Islamic State Still a Danger

The U.S. general commanding forces against the Islamic State said it has lost 98 percent of the land it claimed and 7.7 million people have been liberated from its control.

Still, he warned the group could continue as a shadow terror outfit operating without a base.

Army Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, said a coalition that has grown to 74 nations reclaimed 25,096 square miles of land from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh, in 2017. Yet he warned the allies can’t let up.

“Their repressive ideology continues,” Funk said in a New Years message posted to the coalition Facebook page. “The conditions remain present for Daesh to return, and only through coalition and international efforts can the defeat become permanent.”

— Wire reports