Violence leaves about 60 shot, 8 of them dead, for July 4th weekend
AGENDA 21 RADIO
BY Peter Nickeas, Elvia Malagon and Elyssa Cherney Contact Reporters
Chicago Tribune
Dozens of people were struck by gunfire in Chicago, some of them fatally, during the traditionally violent Fourth of July weekend, mostly in parts of the South and West sides that have long been plagued by gang crime and gun violence.
From Friday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon, about 60 people were shot with eight of them killed, according to data kept by the Tribune.
The toll comes as the Chicago Police Department added roughly 1,300 police officers to work each day since Friday to patrol the violent neighborhoods, the parks, the CTA transit system and the lakefront, where large crowds formed to celebrate the holiday and watch fireworks.
This year’s shooting toll was similar to recent Fourth of July weekends, though direct comparisons are difficult because the holiday fell on a Tuesday this year. The shootings this year occurred in communities long beset by violence such as Roseland, Greater Grand Crossing and Back of the Yards on the South Side and East Garfield Park, Austin and North Lawndale on the West Side.
