At least eight children were fatally shot in Chicago over Labor Day weekend, including a four-year-old boy who was struck by bullets fired from outside his home through a window during a crossfire between criminals and their victims.
During a news conference, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown criticized the gunmen and said that they, along with their victims, did not care whether or not innocent children were affected by their actions. The official said that young kids should not be the byproduct of criminal behavior.
Labor Day Weekend Shootings
He referred directly to offenders who were being targeted by other people, such as gangs. Brown argued that if they know they have a target on their back, they should not keep themselves near young children that could be casualties in potentially deadly encounters.
Brown noted how rare it was for innocent children to be targeted themselves and noted that it was always an offender, gang member, criminal network, or quarrel between two parties that resulted in young victims. The official called the victims "innocent bystanders" that were shot due to their environment, ABC News reported.
Authorities identified the youngest victim of the Labor Day Weekend shooting as four-year-old Mychal Moultry and police were still trying to locate his killer on Monday. Officials have put up a $9,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the shooter.
Officials said that Mychal was trying to get his hair styled in the front part of a home when two bullets suddenly struck his head through a window. Deputy Chief of the Chicago police detective division, Rahman Muhammad, said detectives were investigating the crime scene in search of evidence and witnesses.
Police revealed that at least three other people were shot dead over the weekend and 53 others were injured by guns. Muhammad said that an 11-year-old kid was wounded by a bullet on Saturday and that a 14-year-old was struck in the ankle when multiple gunshots were fired into a crowd at an event celebrating kids going back to school, NBC News reported.
Surge of Gun Violence
The devastating surge of gun violence and gun violence victims in major cities across the United States has drawn criticism from many residents. Some experts previously warned that recent shooting and murder rate increases could lead to more deadly and violent summer months.
Chicago, in the month of August, recorded 78 murders, an increase of 22% compared to the same time last year. On a year-to-date comparison from 2020, officials reported an increase of 3% in murders.
While the region reported lower numbers for shootings, from August 2020 with 380 to August 2021 with 372, the number of victims of gun violence increased by three last month. The Chicago Police Department recorded two fewer murders in July in a year-to-year comparison but reported an increase in shootings from those months.
One of the more notable incidents occurred in August when a seven-year-old girl was shot dead while sitting in a parked car next to her six-year-old sister, who was also critically wounded, Fox News reported.
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