Police, Community Groups Turn Out Against Violence In Chicago This July 4th Weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police were out in force this July 4th holiday weekend, with an aim to curb a trend in violence.
As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported Saturday, an anti-violence event kicked off around 5 p.m. in Englewood. It was one of several happening throughout the city.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown was in attendance at the Englewood event, all in an effort to get ahead of a potentially violent holiday.
Among the shootings so far this weekend was one that left a woman dead and two men wounded on Lake Shore Drive near 31st Street.
Police said a group of men attacked and shot the 34-year-old woman in the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The two men, ages 26 and 32, survived.
That homicide was one of at least a dozen shootings, three of them fatal, that had happened so far this 4th of July as of 5 p.m.
They came as the Chicago Police Department deployed 1,200 officers to the street to keep the peace.
And peace was the mantra at the Englewood event, held by the Mr. Dad's Father's Club. Different food options were set up for people to eat and enjoy the holiday.
The event was held about a mile away from the site on Halsted Street near 60th Street where 1-year-old Sincere Gaston was killed as he sat in a passing car in the middle of the afternoon a week ago.
The organizer of the event Saturday said being visible is more important than ever.
"It makes a difference," said Joseph Williams, founder of the Mr. Dad's Father's Club. Sometimes when you see people who could be doing something totally different, they'll be out here trying food right now and out here socializing and having a good time. And every minute we have with these individuals no matter who they are, we're helping protect them and kind of save their lives, because we're all out here together enjoying ourselves, but we're also doing something positive."
The Englewood event was one of several "Hit the Hood" events, made possible by grants from the group My Block, My Hood, My City. It was set to go on until 8 p.m.