Mayor Loir Lightfoot’s Chicago has once again led the nation in violence as more than 50 people were shot over the Memorial Day weekend, which is 11 more people shot than the same weekend last year.
According to officials, nine victims died by Monday night.
Authorities say the mass shootings happened on Sunday. The first in Lawndale outside of an elementary school where five people were shot after a gunman opened fire on a group of people gathered for the anniversary of a teen’s killing.
Later Sunday evening on man was killed and four others injured in Humboldt Park when police were called out to a Domestic Violence incident. The SWAT team was eventually called and the 23-year-old gunman was arrested after an hour long stand off.
Chicago has led the nation in mass shootings since 2018 with 811 people shot. Philadelphia follows with 367 people shot and Baltimore rounds out the top three with 220 people shot in mass shootings in that time frame.
Mayor Lighfoot’s and Governor J.B. Pritzker have come under fire for their ‘soft on crime’ approach which many believe has led to the skyrocketing crime experienced on a weekly basis in Chicago.
In February of 2021, Gov. Pritzker signed a criminal justice omnibus bill into law which included the elimination of cash bail which will take effect in January 2023. Experts believe the move will inflame violent crime in the city.
So far in 2022, 236 people have been killed in Chicago, according to the most recently released data.
In addition Chicago also has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country.
The Chicago Sun Times Reported details from the weekend shootings in Chicago:
Three men were wounded, one fatally, in a shooting Monday in Burnside on the South Side. They were near a sidewalk about 7:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of East 93rd Street when someone opened fire, Chicago police said. One man, 25, was shot in the chest and taken to Trinity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Another man, 26, was also shot in the chest and taken to the same hospital in critical condition. The third man, 27, suffered a gunshot wound to his body and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. His condition was not immediately known.
A man was fatally shot Monday in Gresham on the South Side. About 5 p.m., the 27-year-old was in the 8600 block of South Aberdeen Street when he was shot multiple times, police said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Also Monday, a man was killed in a shooting in Englewood on the South Side. He was inside a residence about 2:50 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Green Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the face and abdomen, Chicago police said. The 31-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jeremy Benson, 33, was shot and killed Sunday morning while driving in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, authorities said. He was shot while driving in the 4400 block of West Madison Street and crashed into a median, police said. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital.
A man was killed early Sunday in Englewood when gunfire erupted during a birthday party. The shooting sent hundreds of people running in the 5700 block of South Carpenter Street. A 24-year-old was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Police placed a white cloth over the man, who was lying on a sidewalk near evidence markers. “They won’t even let me see his body,” the man’s mother said. “They could at least let me hold his hand.”
Hours earlier, two men killed each other during a shootout in Englewood, police said. The shootout happened at 5 p.m. Saturday in the 5500 block of South Bishop Street, police said. Both men were pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. One of the men was identified as Derrick Washington, 29. The other man was 38.
Saturday afternoon, a man was killed in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side. He was shot in his head around 1:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of West 63rd Street, police said. He died at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Police released no other details.
The violence was expected as the Chicago Police Department canceled officers’ days off over the holiday.
