Dozens of people were shot in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, the latest spate of violence in one of the most violent cities in the United States.
At least 34 people were shot as of Sunday night, reported the Chicago Tribune. Five of those were killed.
A Chicago Police Department spokesman said officers arrested 41 people for offenses involving guns and had removed 112 guns between Friday evening and Sunday morning.
A shooting at around 6 a.m. on Sunday morning on West Hastings Street left two people dead and another three wounded. It may have been a retaliation for a shooting that took place at about 1 a.m. on the same block that killed three people and left another five wounded, police told the Tribune.
By Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend, Chicago police had responded to the shootings of 34 people, five of whom died of their injuries, officials said. https://t.co/KxBXooSb4x
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) May 27, 2019
“Multiple weapons have been recovered and detectives believe our offender opened fire on a group of people with a TEC-9 semi-automatic machine pistol. Two victims suffered fatal injuries and two others are being treated at an area hospital,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Several hundred people were at the ABLA Homes public housing community prior to the shooting there, he added.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said late Saturday that he couldn’t compare the violence to past years.
“It’s not really fair to put numbers on it,” Johnson told WGN. “If we want to say success we’ll have zero incidents—that’s what we’re striving for.”
The Memorial Day holiday weekend is marked by gun violence in Chicago.
Police are investigating dozens of shootings across the city. At least five people were killed. @AudrinaBigos reports. https://t.co/PUZF5kG1zm pic.twitter.com/NjMkyEwbjN— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) May 27, 2019
In 2018, seven people were shot dead during Memorial Day weekend and another 32 were wounded. Fatal shootings regularly take place in Chicago, infamous for being one of the most violent cities in the nation.
The spate of violence this year happened despite the police department deploying an additional 1,200 officers, reported CBS. Most of the additional officers were working between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. each night over the weekend.
“From 11:00 to 3:00, our brave men and women in the police department are going to be out in the streets. We’re also going to be asking community leaders to be out and be diligent to encourage our young people to go home,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “Or if they’re going to be out, to engage in healthy activities.”
No one has been arrested for the five killings as of yet. Many killings go unsolved in the city, a fact that police have blamed on residents not coming forward to give tips to officers.
SHOOTING BEFORE OUR LIVESHOT this morning! Over 20 gunshots near the @Chicago_Police Department Headquarters at 4:30AM, two photographers heard what sounded like gunfire. Needless to say, we travelled 2.4 miles to report somewhere else. @fox32news pic.twitter.com/VUUvGTvzM0
— Tia A. Ewing (@TIA_EWING) May 27, 2019
One of the latest shootings appeared to be a 25-year-old woman getting shot while she was with friends just before midnight on North Washtenaw Avenue.
The woman was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police told the Chicago Sun-Times.
No one was arrested but witnesses told police the gunshots may have been fired from a vehicle traveling on the I-90 expressway.
Fox reporter Tia Ewing said on Monday morning that she and Fox photographers near the police department headquarters at around 4:30 a.m. heard over 20 gunshots.
“Needless to say, we traveled 2.4 miles to report somewhere else,” she wrote.
