A war among criminals rages on in America's third-largest city, with innocent residents caught in the crossfire.
Over the holiday weekend, Chicago passed an ominous threshold: So far in 2016, 2,000 people have been victims of gun violence.
In all of last year, 2,988 people were victims of gun violence, according to records kept by The Chicago Tribune.
5,000 cops deployed for Chicago holiday weekend
Over the Fourth of July weekend, four people were killed and 46 were injured in 42 shootings and a stabbing, according to a release from Chicago police. Last July 4 weekend, seven were killed and 40 wounded.
Looking at all of 2016 -- in every metric that matters in tracking gun violence -- the numbers are up.
At least 319 people have been slain in Chicago this year, about a 50% increase over this period last year. The number of shootings and the number of shooting victims in 2016 have increased at about the same rate.
Police response
Chicago police executed an aggressive gang raid on Friday, hoping to decrease violence over the holiday weekend.
Eighty-eight people were arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, according to police. Of that group, 55 were convicted felons, and 16 were serving parole sentences for earlier crimes, police said.
Police called the levels of violence over the holiday weekend unacceptable, but noted that the city's fireworks display, lakefront and transit stations remained safe.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the focus needs to be on stopping repeat offenders.
"We have too many guns in the streets of Chicago and too many people willing to use them," he said Tuesday.
Johnson said officials will look at whether more officers should have been deployed over part of the holiday.
Article Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/05/us/chicago-violence-july-4/index.html
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