Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the city’s most violent Memorial Day weekend on record, calling it “intolerable.”
Victims of the shootings range in age from 2 to 77 years, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) said. At least a dozen of them were fired at while standing on sidewalks late at night and into the early morning hours.
“The violence our city experienced this weekend is intolerable. It produced pain and trauma that devastated communities across Chicago and my heart breaks for everyone affected,” Johnson said in a statement. “That’s why as mayor, I am committed to leveraging every single resource at our disposal to protect every single life in our city.”
Johnson thanked police officers, first responders, and city workers, among others, who “tirelessly dedicated themselves to keeping Chicago safe,” but acknowledged “we have much more work to do.”
“As a result of their efforts, thousands of Chicagoans and visitors enjoyed themselves safely at beaches, festivals, and neighborhood events across the city,” he said. “Tragically, however, too many others were unable to. But I know none of us will rest until every Chicagoan can safely enjoy all the beauty our city has to offer.”
In 2015, 12 people were killed during the holiday weekend.
Last year, Chicago experienced a violent Memorial Day weekend, with 52 people shot and nine of them killed.
Ahead of the deadly holiday crime, Johnson and his interim police superintendent, Fred Waller, on May 25 unveiled a new plan to reduce violence across the city.
During the press conference, Johnson and Walker highlighted some intensive patrol efforts, including that all officers would get one less day off this holiday weekend. But the centerpiece of this plan is a multi-million dollar investment in youth programs.
“I’m talking about $3.5 million in grants to more than 250 community organizations to fund safe programming and activities for young people during the summer months, beginning Memorial Day,” Johnson said.
The public-private partnership will support violence prevention and youth outreach efforts across 24 communities on the South and West sides, beginning with engaging youth in activities during Memorial Day weekend and the gap between the end of the school year and the beginning of Chicago Park District programming, according to the mayor’s office.
Johnson, who took office on May 15, inherited a police department with roughly 1,700 fewer officers than when his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, started four years ago.
The CPD, alongside many other departments across the United States, is hemorrhaging officers faster than it can find qualified applicants. Data suggests that it has lost more than 3,300 officers and staff between 2019 and 2022, but has hired 1,600 people to fill the vacancies left by those demoralized by the anti-police riots and calls to “defund the police” in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
