45 People Were Shot Over the Weekend in Chicago After Police Announced a Decrease in Shootings Saturday

Wire Service
By Wire Service
June 3, 2019US News
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45 People Were Shot Over the Weekend in Chicago After Police Announced a Decrease in Shootings Saturday
Chicago police work the scene of a shooting in the 6300 block of South Seeley in in Chicago, Ill., on April 6, 2019. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP)

At least 45 people were shot—10 fatally—in Chicago over the weekend, according to Chicago Police spokesperson Ronald Westbrooks.

The violent weekend came as the department announced on Saturday that crime was down 9 percent in the first five months of 2019, compared with the same period last year.

In response to this weekend’s deadly violence, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told CNN affiliate WLS, that she plans to meet with Chicago Police officials in what she’s calling “accountability Mondays” to discuss upticks in weekend violence.

“(I’m) bringing in the Superintendent, the Deputy Chief of Patrol, and any other commander whose district saw an uptick in violence over the weekend,” Lightfoot said.

NTD Photo
A Chicago Police department patrol car. (Screenshot via Facebook/Chicago Police department)

Chicago Police had begun the weekend by touting a drop in crime. A statement released early on Saturday said that murders were down 7 percent and shootings down 13 percent from January 1 through May 31, compared with those same months a year ago.

There were 186 homicides through May 31, compared with 200 by the same time last year, according to police department’s statement.

The department had previously announced a 10 percent decrease in homicides in April.

Speaking to CNN affiliate WLS Sunday after the weekend incidents, Lightfoot said, “The level of violence that we’ve seen across the city is just totally unacceptable.”

Chicago has launched numerous efforts to curb gun violence.

In April, the department launched a summer safety plan that included increased deployment in high traffic areas and “tech and data-driven” law enforcement efforts.

Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said in a statement in April that he thought the department was “well-prepared to keep the city safe this summer.”

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks during a news conference Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, abandoning the case barely five weeks after he was accused of lying to police about being the target of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago. Johnson stood by the department's investigation and said Chicago is "is still owed an apology." (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks during a news conference on March 26, 2019. (Teresa Crawford/Photo via AP)

An uptick in violence often follows a rise in temperature over the summer months in Chicago, where the winter cold keeps people indoors. With a rise in temperature come more social gatherings, more alcohol, more disputes … and more violence.

In a statement released Saturday, Johnson said the department “can always do better but I believe that our officers work diligently to provide consistent and fair policing in all of our neighborhoods and our efforts are paying in dividends.”

Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this article.

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