More than 30 people have been shot, three fatally, in Chicago over the weekend, in the second weekend of gun violence since new mayor Lori Lightfoot was sworn in on May 20 on a promise to cut the city’s crime rate.
ABC News reported that a 12-year-old boy had been shot in the back on Saturday afternoon and rushed to the hospital. He is said to be in critical condition.
Last week 52 people were shot in Chicago over a 12-hour period, 10 of which died, in the worst weekend of violence this year.
Beginning this evening expect to see a heavy #ChicagoPolice presence along Lake Shore Drive and major thoroughfares as part of summer weekend deployment. Additional saturation units & the summer mobile team will also be deployed to support neighborhood patrols. #OurCityOurSafety pic.twitter.com/94kXOUpHh5
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) June 8, 2019
Over Memorial Weekend in Chicago, seven victims died of gunshot wounds, out of a total of 43 people that were shot. Last year during Memorial Weekend the statistics showed a similar pattern, with 38 people shot leading to at least eight deaths, NBC Chicago reported.
Chicago, sometimes dubbed the nation’s “murder capital” has been battling for decades to bring its homicide rates down, but banning handgun ownership in 1982 seemingly had little effect.
This year’s overall murder rate is slightly lower than last year’s at this point in the year. USA Today reported there have been 191 murders year-to-date, whereas there were 237 murders by this time last year.
Chicago Police Department Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi told ABC News: “While we don’t comment on specifics in terms of officer deployments, we have positioned saturation and tactical teams in areas of the city that we are addressing ongoing gang conflicts that are contributing to recent violence.”More than 30 people have been shot, three fatally, in Chicago over the weekend, in the second weekend of gun violence since new mayor Lori Lightfoot was sworn in on May 20.
He added: “Additionally, there will be heavy saturation patrols along Lake Shore Drive and major thoroughfares beginning Friday and through the weekend. Supplemental summer patrols were also deployed in neighborhoods across the south and west side of the city.”
33 Shot Over Warm Weekend in Chicago, Including 2 Children at Baby Shower
Six people were shot at a baby shower in Chicago, including two children, in what police suspect to be a gang revenge attack.
A 10-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy were said by police to be in “critical but stable condition” following the shooting on the evening of Saturday, April 6, on Chicago’s South Side.
They were the youngest of the 33 people shot over the weekend in a city where temperatures hit their highest so far this year.
The children were shot outside a family gathering in West Englewood, together with four adults who were also wounded.
“We know that two men in dark clothing approached the family gathering, which we believe was a baby shower and opened fire,” said Anthony Guglielmi.
“Based on the victim profiles, we suspect this could have been from an earlier incident that stemmed from an ongoing gang conflict in that neighborhood,” Guglielmi said.
Eyewitnesses told the Chicago Tribune that there were about 20 children outside at the time. They rushed toward the house as the shots rang out, piling onto each other as they tried to get through the door, Richard Nix, whose oldest grandson was having the baby shower, told the paper.
Simon Veazey contributed to this report.
