1,700 Shootings in Chicago Since January -- 318 People Killed...
1,700 Shootings in Chicago Since January -- 318 People Killed
August 6, 2018 | Over the weekend, 74 people were shot in Chicago and 11 died, and since January 1, 2018, there have been 1,700 shootings in the Windy City and 318 people have died by homicide, according to the Chicago Tribune, which tracks the attacks and murders.
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Chicago Police Officials React to One of the City's Most Violent Weekends of 2018
6 Aug.`18 - Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson reacted angrily to one of the city's bloodiest weekends of the year, calling on neighbors to come forward to help police stem the violence.
1,700 Shootings in Chicago Since January -- 318 People Killed
August 6, 2018 | Over the weekend, 74 people were shot in Chicago and 11 died, and since January 1, 2018, there have been 1,700 shootings in the Windy City and 318 people have died by homicide, according to the Chicago Tribune, which tracks the attacks and murders.
In the last 365-day cycle -- Aug. 6, 2017 to Aug. 6, 2018 -- 569 people have been murdered in Chicago. In those deaths, 487 people were shot; 7 were beaten; 10 were assaulted; 10 were "other"; 23 were stabbed; and 32 were "unknown" cause of death. According to the Tribune, the "other" homicides could include death by vehicle, trauma, strangulation, or child abuse. Most of the homicides occur in the South Side and West Side of Chicago.
In terms of race, the Tribune reports that in the last 365 days, 414 of the victims were black (not hispanic); 54 were Hispanic; 52 were not known; 47 were white; 1 was Black/hispanic; and 1 was Asian. Among the victims over the last 365 days, 508 were men; 60 were women; and 1 was unknown. Chicago has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the country.
1,700 Shootings in Chicago Since January -- 318 People Killed
See also:
Chicago Police Officials React to One of the City's Most Violent Weekends of 2018
6 Aug.`18 - Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson reacted angrily to one of the city's bloodiest weekends of the year, calling on neighbors to come forward to help police stem the violence.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson reacted angrily Monday to one of Chicago’s bloodiest weekends of the year, calling on neighbors to come forward to help police stem the runaway violence. “All of us know that this is not Chicago, what we saw,” an emotional Emanuel, seeking re-election to a third term, told reporters at a news conference at the Gresham District station on the South Side. “We are better than what we saw.” Johnson expressed frustration at the blame laid on Chicago police for the violence when it’s those pulling the triggers who need to be held accountable. “It’s the same individuals who continually commit these crimes,” he said.
In answer to a reporter’s question, Johnson said no arrests had yet been made in any of the dozens of shootings over the weekend, though detectives have promising leads on a number of them. At least 75 people were shot in one of the most violent weekends this year, spurred by a seven-hour period early Sunday when 40 were shot. Between 3 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, 12 people were killed and 63 wounded, according to Tribune data. The victims’ ages ranged from 11 to 62, with most of them shot on the South and West sides. As of Friday, at least 1,700 have been shot in the city this year, well below each of the last two years, particularly 2016 when violence hit records unseen for two decades.
Evidence markers sit on the ground at the scene where a 17-year-old boy was killed after being shot in the abdomen while riding his bike on the 7600 block of South Union Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018 in Chicago, Ill.
The Police Department originally called the news conference for Monday morning to announce what it called a “milestone” with its efforts to improve field training for officers. But with the violent weekend becoming a national issue, Johnson never even touched on what development had been achieved. “What we saw this weekend, it just rips at everything that I believe in because I know as a city and as a neighborhood … we can do better,” the superintendent said. In answer to a question, Johnson acknowledged that some of the weekend’s mass shootings — at least 40 people were shot citywide, four fatally, in less than seven hours early Sunday — happened during large gatherings on certain blocks. "You should be able to gather on your block and have a block club party (without) the fear of being gunned down," he said. "And it's the same individuals that continuously commit these crimes. Where's the accountability for them?"
Johnson said the weekend violence mostly occurred in four patrol districts covering parts of the South and West sides. He couldn't say definitively what caused the rise in violence this past weekend, but he denied that the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park put a drain on police resources for the rest of the city. He also addressed the hot weather's role in the spike in shootings, an issue that has caused police superintendents' eyes to roll over the years. . "People have asked me is it the weather? Is it this? Is it that? No. It's the psychology of the people pulling these triggers," he said. "Weather? All that does is afford more people to enjoy he summertime. The weather doesn't cause a person to say, 'You know what? It's 90 degrees. I'm going to go out and shoot somebody.'" Johnson and Emanuel encouraged people in those neighborhoods to speak up.
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