Chicago Shootings This Weekend: 109 Shot, 19 Dead Over 4th Of July Weekend
The extended Fourth of July weekend recorded several gun violence incidents in Chicago.
Per the police, 109 people got shot and 19 people were killed by gun violence across Chicago from Wednesday midnight to Monday midnight, as reported by ABC 7 Chicago.
Because of the alarming number of shootings, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling held a press conference, and both called for accountability for the people responsible for the shooting incidents.
"This is a choice. The choice to kill. The choice to kill women, the choice to kill children, the choice to kill the elderly. These are choices that the offenders made and they calculated. We are holding every single individual accountable for the pain and from the torment that they have caused in this city," Johnson said.
He also urged "all of you across the entire city to step up and say, 'We've had enough,'" as "the city cannot afford to wait any longer."
Meanwhile, Snelling revealed they made adjustments, like canceling officers' days off after the holiday.
"We have to really stop and think about the mindset of someone who will shoot a child, a helpless child an unarmed mother and think that that's OK. And go about their days," he said.
"Those people have to be taken off the street. They have to be put away if we're not doing that. Then we're failing other families."
Aside from canceling officers' days off, the authorities assured that they are doubling their efforts to solve the issue after the violent holiday weekend.
Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich on gun violence over the July 4th holiday: "Elected officials must take action and listen to the voices of the Americans who are losing children, parents, friends, mentors and hope to gun violence." pic.twitter.com/p3VXT731ey
— Michael J. O'Loughlin (@MikeOLoughlin) July 8, 2024
Cardinal Blase Cupich, who serves as the archbishop of the Latin Church Archdiocese of Chicago, has also spoken up about the shooting incidents, according to NBC Chicago.
"This year ... we witnessed atrocious violence across Chicago: More than 100 people were struck by gunfire, 19 people lost their lives, and countless families and friends of those victims are left with questions, prayers and anger," he said in a statement.
"As I said last year, we have a gun violence epidemic in America, and it is far past time for us to do something about it. The beautiful memories of the people lost tragically to gun violence will remain forever, but so will the trauma from the loss of loved ones."
This year's gun attacks are significantly higher than the recorded incidents from 2023. Last year, 73 people got shot and 11 were killed over the Independence Day weekend in Chicago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Nearly half of the victims, at the time, were reportedly from Deering, Englewood and Chicago Lawn.
