At least 74 people were shot and 11 killed in a weekend of violence in Chicago, according to a report.
Between 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 3, and 6 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 6, 11 people were gunned down and 63 others were wounded, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that 70 people were shot and 11 died.
The Tribune, citing its own data, said that gun violence in Chicago in 2018 has been well above recent years except for the previous two years. This year, there have been at least 1,700 people shot and 300 homicides in the city.
Gang Violence to Blame
“They take advantage of that opportunity and they shoot into a crowd, no matter who they hit,” Chicago police chief of patrol Fred Waller said.He said that gang members tend to shoot into summer crowds of people at night.
Shooters, he said, targeted large groups of people at block parties, a funeral, and other outdoor events.
Chicago police said that dozens of people shot during six separate mass shootings during a seven-hour span on Sunday, CBS Chicago reported. At least four people were shot in each of those incidents. In that span, 28 were wounded and three died.
“We won’t be defeated. We won’t be overrun by that small group, that small element that’s committing these reckless acts. We will not. I promise you that we will not be defeated,” he told CBS Chicago.
“Detectives are working around the clock to investigate the incidents, build a timeline of events and identify any shooter,” he also said, WLS reported. “We'll also be conducting coordinated enforcement missions to target individuals that are driving the violence in these areas and focus on where we believe retaliatory violence may occur.”
Amid the ongoing weekend violence, there have been calls for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was former President Obama’s chief of staff, to resign. Last week, demonstrators chanted “Rahm has to go.”
