Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot suggested the coronavirus is playing a role in the skyrocketing crime that is occurring in the city.
Lightfoot joined CNN for a Monday segment following another weekend of bloodshed in the city, during which she was asked what “is happening” in Chicago where homicides have shot “up more than 30%.”
“All of these forces are coming together at the same time and making it very difficult. The ecosystem of public safety that isn’t just law enforcement but is local, community-based, they, too, have really been hit hard by COVID and are now just kind of coming back online and getting their footing,” she responded.
Chicago’s Independence Day weekend brought at least 17 deaths and 72 shooting-related injuries. A 7-year-old girl was among those shot and killed.
“Tonight, a 7-year-old girl in Austin joined a list of teenagers and children whose hopes and dreams were ended by the barrel of a gun,” Lightfoot said in a Saturday statement. “As families gather to commemorate the founding of our nation, we must ask ourselves: is this who we are as a city or as a country? We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us.”
Shootings have spiked in recent weeks in the city, including on Father’s Day, when more than 100 people were shot, and 15 people died.
Among those shot and killed that weekend was a 3-year-old, identified as Mekay James. He was struck by a bullet in the back when a gunman opened fire on his father while they were driving, Chicago police said. A bullet also struck his father, but he survived.
“Our city’s collective heart breaks. … There are simply no words to describe such a heinous, unconscionable act of cowardice to shoot at a toddler,” Lightfoot tweeted about James’s death.
Chicago police have reported a spike in murders and shootings this year in comparison to 2019. Shootings increased by 71% in May, compared to the year before, with 409 people shot. Murders were up 60%, with 85 reported.
