Multiple shootings happened this weekend and while police say that they’ve taken thousands of guns off the streets this summer alone, the city of Chicago still remains in crisis. In a span of roughly 48 hours, 10 people were killed and another 53 wounded across the city. If that’s not a staggering number, here’s a statistic that may sound even crazier to you; Homicides are down 30% in the city.
With all of these shootings, most of which are likely the result of gang violence, gun control advocates seem to forget about Chicago and it’s plague of murders.
ABC 7 Chicago reports;
The violence has spilled over into Monday morning, including a murder that happened just after midnight in the Roseland neighborhood not far from Chicago State University.
A person in a ski-mask fired shots at two people standing in front of a home. A 50-year-old man died a 55-year-old woman was hurt.
In the Fuller Park neighborhood, three people were shot by someone in a ski mask and a black hoodie.
The shooting occurred in the 4300-block of South Wentworth Avenue at about 2:26 a.m. Two men were in a parked vehicle and a third man was standing near it when the shots were fired.
A 32-year-old man was shot twice in the arm and a 33-year-old man was shot in the hip. Both men were transported to University of Chicago Hospital in stable condition. A 26-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the hand and thigh and is hospitalized at Stroger Hospital in stable condition.
With Illinois becoming the last state in the Country to allow it’s residents to carry firearms, it’s a small step towards curbing this rash of violence. While many targeted are affiliated with gangs, others are not. They simply happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, such as 17-year-old Jahnae Patterson, who was shot and killed while at a party. Patterson was one of six people shot. The gunman has not been identified.
“Detectives are working around the clock to investigate the incidents, build a timeline of events and identify any shooter,” said Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller. “We’ll also be conducting coordinated enforcement missions to target individuals that are driving the violence in these areas and focus on where we believe retaliatory violence may occur.”
How do you stop gang violence? I’m not sure I have the answer to that. I do know, however, that police do what they can to stop it, and are up against a large task with many hurdles.
Having more armed citizens, though, could be a partial answer to the equation.
