Chicago is seeing another bloody holiday weekend, with 67 people injured or killed in shootings.
Independence Day weekend in Chicago has so far brought 13 deaths and 54 injuries from shootings. Nine of those killed or injured were minors, including a 7-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy who were shot to death.
“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,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a Saturday statement on Twitter.
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.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 5, 2020
“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,” she continued.
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.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 5, 2020
Shootings have spiked in recent weeks in the city, including on Father’s Day when more than 100 people were shot and 15 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 James’s 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 compared with 2019. Shootings increased by 71% in May compared with the year before, with 409 people shot. Murders were up 60%, with 85 reported.
An uptick in violence has also been seen in New York City in recent weeks, following protests and riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post in June that murders and shootings were much higher than in the same period last year. There were 13 murders between June 1-7, with 40 reported shootings. There were five murders and 24 shootings during the same time period in 2019.
