Chicago’s Violent Memorial Day Weekend Ends With 69 Shot

[TheWorldNewsOrg]

Chicago witnessed a bloody holiday weekend with 69 people being shot, six of them fatally.

The majority of the shootings that began Friday afternoon and continued into the wee hours of the morning Tuesday occurred in or near the city’s Harrison District on the West Side, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Chicago Police Department Deputy Superintendent John Escalante promised Sunday to deploy more patrol units in light of the widespread violence, the Tribune reported. Despite this, by early Tuesday, nine more people had been shot.

According to the Tribune, seven of the shooting incidents on the West Side had more than one victim.

The outlet noted, however, that though the number of shootings is significantly higher compared to last year, the number of deaths decreased. Twelve out of the 44 shootings over Memorial Day weekend last year were fatal.

The Tribune also reported that there were no shooting deaths for more than 48 hours between late Saturday afternoon and late Monday.

This Memorial Day weekend was CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s first since Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed him to lead the controversial department in late March.

On Tuesday, Johnson spoke at the City Club of Chicago, where he addressed the city’s violent weekend.

At @CityClubChicago Supt Johnson commits to rebuilding public trust & improve criminal justice system for gun crime pic.twitter.com/wQ7fahQ7yS

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) May 31, 2016

“When cultures don’t understand each other, they fear one another,” Johnson said. “Going forward we will work to foster cultural diversity for CPD.”

Johnson: When cultures don't understand each other, they fear one another. Going forward we will work to foster cultural diversity for CPD

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) May 31, 2016

Though department said it tried to get volunteers to work overtime over the weekend, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi did not release figures to the Tribune detailing how many officers worked.

Due to city budget constraints, Emanuel has relied heavily on overtime law enforcement workers to lessen the violence.

The Tribune posted a comprehensive list complete with descriptions of the homicide victims who died over the weekend. Their ages range from 15 to 44.

Chicago’s total homicides so far for 2016 is at least 250, compared to about 160 over the same period in 2015, according to data gathered by the Tribune. Around 1,500 people have been shot in Chicago so far in 2016.

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