At least 46 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, including seven who were killed
Chicago — As the nation grapples with mass shooting tragedies in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, dozens of people were shot in Chicago over the weekend. Two mass shootings occurred in less than three hours on Sunday.
In all, seven people were killed and at least 46 others were wounded in shootings since Friday evening.
More than a dozen people were wounded, one of them fatally, in a pair of mass shootings in the Lawndale neighborhood early Sunday. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Mount Sinai Hospital temporarily stopped accepting patients because it was at capacity.
The Chicago Police Department told CBS News that it believes all of the shootings were gang or drug-related. "The individuals are carrying illegal guns to settle disputes and to prey on rivals because there are no consequences for carrying guns in the city of Chicago," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.
The first shooting happened at around 1:20 a.m. in Douglas Park.
Police said a group of people was standing in the park when someone opened fire from a black Chevrolet Camaro. Seven people between the ages of 20 and 25 were wounded.
Eight people were shot in Lawndale in a separate incident at around 3:45 a.m., when unknown shooters opened fire on a large group of people at a block party. One man, 33-year-old Demetrius Flowers, was killed.
Flowers' father told CBS Chicago that it's the second son he's lost to violence. "Please stop. It's killing our families, it's destroying the fiber of our communities. We have to stop this senseless killing, because if we don't, there's nothing going to be left. There's nothing going to be left," Keith Flowers said.
Seven other people were wounded, all between the ages of 19 and 35. No one was in custody for either of the mass shootings.
The most recent fatal shooting in Chicago occurred at around 10:15 p.m. Sunday in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Police said the victims were driving south when a suspect in a silver sedan pulled up and started shooting.
The 21-year-old man driving the vehicle that was shot at then crashed into a light box. He was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. A 20-year-old woman was shot in the left arm and was stabilized at the University of Chicago Medical Center.