At least 58 people were shot in the city in three days, including two toddlers
Another holiday weekend turned deadly in Chicago, with 58 people shot and 11 killed in the city’s latest outbreak of gun violence. The victims included two toddlers who were injured in a gun explosion at their home.
The shootings all occurred between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday, with victims ranging in age from two to 77, according to police. The chaos reportedly marked Chicago’s deadliest Memorial Day weekend in eight years and was the first holiday since Mayor Brandon Johnson took office earlier this month.
Violence is not limited to shootings. A woman was found stabbed to death early Saturday morning in an alley less than two blocks from Johnson’s home in the city’s Austin neighborhood. A 36-year-old man was shot and wounded about five blocks from the mayor’s home Monday night. Both shootings involving two-year-olds occurred on Sunday night.
Many of the victims, including William Hair, 34, were just standing on the sidewalk as the attacker drove up and shot them. “Three blocks from his house, a car pulled up,” The man’s brother, Matthew Hair, told the NBC News affiliate in Chicago. “There were two shots, one shot at a person. They didn’t ask for money. They didn’t ask for anything. They shot him for no reason.”
No suspects were arrested. At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured in shootings across the United States over the holiday weekend. An altercation between two groups in Hollywood, Florida, broke out on a crowded beach boardwalk Monday night, injuring nine people.
Holiday weekends in Chicago are often plagued by gun violence. For example, more than 100 people were shot, 18 of them fatally, in 69 separate incidents over the July 4th weekend in 2021. Nine shooting victims were killed and 42 wounded in the city over Memorial Day weekend last year.
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Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer, has called for a redistribution of funds “From a failed system of racist policing, criminalization and incarceration.” However, even though he advocated more “overall” Out of concern for public safety, he did not attempt to defund the police. In fact, he plans to hire 200 more detectives to help solve more cases.
The new mayor last week announced a safety plan to prevent violence over the holiday weekend.His tactics include canceling police furloughs to boost staffing and hiring dozens of yellow vests “Peacekeepers” Patrol the streets. Police ordered luggage to be checked at local beaches.
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When asked about the shooting, Johnson reportedly cited socioeconomic factors as the culprit: “Poverty doesn’t go away over the weekend. As we understand it, when communities are disinvested and traumatized, you’ll see manifestations of that trauma.”
