Another Extended July 4th Weekend Of Historic Violence In Chicago: 109 Shot, 19 Fatally

In what could come close to a record-setting weekend of Chicago violence, 109 people were shot over the extended holidays since July 4th, local media reports.

"One hundred and nine people have been shot, 19 fatally, in gun violence across Chicago since Wednesday during the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend, police said," ABC7 Chicago writes. The casualty count rose throughout the day as more police and hospital data was tallied, and came across news desks.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned the uptick in violent crime. "We have to really stop and think about the mindset of someone who will shoot a child, a helpless child an unarmed mother and think that that's okay. And go about their days," Snelling said. "Those people have to be taken off the street. They have to be put away if we're not doing that. Then we're failing other families."

The victims were teens as well as men ranging in age from 16 to 36 years old, police data indicates. The demographic strongly points to most of these being gang-related shootings.

By comparison, there were 33 people total that died from violent crime across the entire nation, thus deaths in Chicago alone made up the bulk.

July 4th and the weekend closest to it tends to be the single deadliest holiday on the calendar year in Chicago, according to past data. This year's Chicago violence is far and above that of last year's. 

The 2023 extended holiday weekend went from Friday night to Tuesday, during which time 57 people were shot and eight were killed.

“When we look at what happened this weekend, we always like to say that it’s a police issue,” Snelling continued during a press conference. "This is a societal issue. The police cannot be in everybody’s backyard. They cannot be in everyone’s home. They cannot invade every single gathering where there’s a possibility that someone may show up with a gun."

For a sampling of some of the tragic weekend shootings via a local news affiliate...

• Two people were shot, one fatally at about 11:51 p.m. in the 700-block of East 89th Place.
• Minutes before that, one person was shot an killed in the 200-block of North Central Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood.
• A man died in an exchange of gunfire Saturday night in South Shore.
• A 26-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were walking on the sidewalk when a white SUV pulled up and someone inside fired shots, police said.
• A woman, shot in her leg, was taken to the same hospital in good condition.

Mayor Johnson on Monday noted the racial aspects to the crimes: "Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time." He said further: "Let's tell the full story of how we got here because if you skip a chapter, it won't give us the ability to actually make the proper adjustments so that we can ensure that stronger and safer becomes a reality."