11-year-old among the wounded during violent crime spree
Anti-gun advocates remained relatively silent over the weekend as approximately 75 people were shot in Chicago.
Between Friday afternoon and early Monday 63 people were wounded and 12 killed during shootings across the crime-ridden city’s South and West sides.
In just a 7-hour period over the weekend, the Chicago Tribune reports, 41 people were hit by gunfire.
Ages of the victims ranged from as young as 11 up to 62 years of age.
“The largest attack wounded eight people in the South Side’s Gresham neighborhood around 12:40 a.m. Monday, including a 14-year-old girl and two 17-year-old girls,” the Tribune reports. “Two 17-year-olds shot in separate incidents were the weekend’s youngest homicide victims.”
According to Chicago police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller, the high numbers can be linked to “gang members who shoot into summer crowds at night.”
“They take advantage of that opportunity and they shoot into a crowd, no matter who they hit,” Waller said.
While the statistics are lower than previous years, the levels still remain vastly higher than nearly anywhere else in the country.
“As of Friday, at least 1,700 people have been shot in the city this year, fewer than the last two years at this time when violence hit record levels in the city but well above other recent years,” the Tribune added.
Shootings in Chicago often fail to draw the same headlines and outcries as high-profile incidents involving so-called assault weapons, despite their rarity in comparison. Chicago’s strict gun control laws are also rarely mentioned.
In January of last year, President Donald Trump threatened to send in federal authorities if the city failed to curb the issue.
“If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!” the president tweeted.
