Dozens shot in Chicago over holiday weekend
CHICAGO — Chicago police say 43 people were shot over the holiday weekend, 11 fatally, reports CBS Chicago.
Sixteen more people have been hit by gunfire since Monday morning, reports the Chicago Tribune. Among them: a 14-year-old girl listed in critical condition.
More than three dozen guns were seized by investigators in connection with the shootings, which occurred between Friday evening and in early Monday’s pre-dawn hours.
The shooting tally includes violence at a family Christmas party on the city’s South Side at which two people were killed and several others wounded.
CBS Chicago reports the violence this year far surpasses last year’s total, in which 30 people were shot in Chicago during a holiday weekend that was two days longer than this year’s, because Christmas Eve and Christmas were on Thursday and Friday.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that the majority of shootings and homicides from Friday afternoon through Monday morning were “targeted attacks by gangs against potential rivals who were at holiday gatherings.”
He says 45 guns have been seized since Friday afternoon, which is slightly more than a typical weekend.
Violence over the holiday weekend comes during a surge in city violence. More than 700 homicides have been reported this year. Last year, fewer than 500 homicides were reported.