During the Fourth of July weekend, at least 13 people have died, including a young 7-year-old girl attending a family party in Chicago, said police officers. The shooting also wounded at least 59 other people.
Young victims
According to AP News, four armed men opened fire at a large gathering of people in the Englewood neighborhood on Saturday evening. Tom Ahern, a police spokesman, said two males were killed on the spot and two others, one a 14-year-old boy, died inside the hospital due to their injuries.
Another four people received injuries, and one was put in critical condition while the other three were in better terms. Ahern noted that the gunmen quickly fled the scene, and no arrest has been made.
Assailants killed the 7-year-old girl by shooting her in the head when she was attending a Fourth of July party at her grandmother's house in the Austin neighborhood. The suspects allegedly got out of a car and immediately began shooting at the group of people.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot posted on Twitter, where she wrote that the young girl became part of a list detailing the children who have lost their lives and hopes for the future at the hands of firearms, as reported by Star Tribune.
Lightfoot also said the community must continue to protect the young generation and encourage them that there is a future where they can live in that is not plagued by gun violence.
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One of the injured people included a 32-year-old man transferred to the hospital and is in stable condition. Police officers reported that seven of the victims of the shooting were minors.
The tragedy of this weekend's shooting followed last week's incident where a one-year-old boy who was riding with his mother died in shootings along with a ten-year-old girl who was shot while inside her home while sitting on the couch, as reported by Boston News.
Additional police force
In response to the heinous crimes committed during the Memorial Day weekend, police announced they would be adding 1,200 additional law enforcement personnel patrolling the streets for this holiday weekend.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown previously said that they were unable to provide additional support during the previous two weekends that recorded 111 people shot, 24 of which died. Brown reassured the public they would be having the other officers working through Thursday to Sunday.
Brown noted that they aimed to arrest criminals who try to undermine public peace and justice during the holidays by taking advantage of the situation. The superintendent announced police would focus on street corners he claims is home to the city's drug market that allegedly result in the shootings and murders in the city.
The superintendent also requested the criminal justice system to keep criminals in prison through to Sunday to avoid potential crimes and violence. Brown said, "When we clear a corner, we're pleading to the court system: keep them in jail through the weekend."
