[Chicago Tribune via PJ] At least 52 people were shot, eight of them fatally, across Chicago over the weekend, the most violent of the year as summer gets underway, with a toll even higher than during the long Memorial Day holiday just a week earlier.
More than half the victims were wounded during a 12-hour burst of gunfire from Friday evening to Saturday morning. At least four of the 31 people shot during that time died after attacks on the West and South sides. At least one other person over the weekend was fatally stabbed, bringing the homicide toll to nine.
The level of violence, which typically spikes during the summer months, eclipsed that of the three-day Memorial Day weekend when at least 43 people were shot, seven of them fatally. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson held a news conference Monday morning, calling the level of violence "despicable."
In a statement Sunday night, the department’s chief spokesman said Johnson ordered "targeted patrols" in areas of potential retaliation by gangs. "Those efforts have resulted in 19 arrests on gun-related charges and 81 illegal weapons seized since Friday evening," Anthony Guglielmi said. "Several people of interest are also being questioned in relation to some of our incidents and detectives have good video leads in others." |
