Over the weekend, the city of Chicago has seen its fair share of gun violence despite efforts from local authorities and community groups.
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ABC 7 Chicago reports 87 people were shot during the Fourth of July weekend and 17 of those victims have died from their injuries. Amongst the victims is 7-year-old Natalie Wallace, who was fatally in the town of Austin Saturday evening. The Chicago Police Department sent out an extra 1,200 officers to help curb the violence but the numbers prove this didn’t stop the shootings from occurring.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said in a statement that the department has to work harder to keep violent offenders in jail. He states, “We should revamp the electronic monitoring program. The electronic monitoring program, it’s clearly not working. We will not stop until this violence ends.”
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Most of the shootings took place in the South and West Side of Chicago. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a separate press conference that the focus on gun violence should be shifted to prevent illegal weapons being purchased from Indiana and being smuggled into the city.
“Sorrow itself is not enough and what it says is we need to do better as a city, this day, this year and really every day. There is no reason we should be feeling and experiencing moments like this.”