More than 100 people were shot and 19 killed in Chicago during a violent Fourth of July celebration.
From Thursday to Sunday, 109 shooting victims were reported, surpassing last year’s holiday weekend total, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson announced at a Monday press conference.
“These are 19 families whose lives are forever altered. Nineteen families who woke up this morning without a son, daughter, mother, father, aunt, or uncle. Over 100 people whose lives will never be the same,” Mayor Johnson said.
The latest shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Police found a 36-year-old man unresponsive on a kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Earlier, at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, three men were shot outside the University of Chicago Hospital. Witnesses saw someone in a dark-grey SUV fire shots at people near a parked car in what appeared to be a targeted attack. The victims were taken to the hospital.
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Other incidents included a shooting at Columbus Park in the Austin neighborhood, where two people exchanged gunfire, injuring seven. A 40-year-old man died after driving himself to Stroger Hospital.
The youngest victim was 8-year-old Bryson Orr, killed along with two female relatives in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Two other children were also wounded.
“We cannot bring back these children. If we want to avoid these press conferences and meetings again, we need everyone to step up. We need people to come forward, take responsibility, and help us help you,” Supt. Snelling said.
Additional officers were deployed across Chicago over the holiday weekend. The police department also announced the opening of an Emergency Services Assistance Center at Fosco Park on Tuesday to support those traumatized by the weekend’s violence.