Chicago Weekend Violence Sparks Nine Murders, Do Black Lives Matter In The Windy City?
Chicago weekend violence grabbed national headlines after local officials announced nine people were murdered and 47 wounded over the holiday weekend. Police officers in the Illinois city reportedly recovered “one illegal gun per hour” over the Fourth of July weekend. One little boy died when he was hit by a bullet intended for his “high-ranking” gang member father, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said during a press conference.
The police superintendent also said that he was “outraged and saddened” by the Chicago weekend violence statistics. McCarthy also noted that the crime wave continued, even though the number of police officers placed on the street has been increased by 30 percent.
The Chicago police official said weekend violence statistics will likely increase once the reports from all precincts have been tallied. So far, the crimes committed in the city with some of the most stringent gun laws in the country include 33 shootings and 47 non-fatal incidents.
“We need to repair a broken system. Criminals don’t feel the repercussions of the justice system,” Garry McCarthy said. “We need some help here, folks. We have to fix this broken system.”
A Bureau of Justice Statistics report revealed that approximately 8,000 (in some years, as many as 9,000) black Americans are murdered on an annual basis. The report goes on to state that 93 percent of the time, the murders are a result of “black-on-black” crime.
According to the Chicago police official, 12 residents have been arrested, and then released, on their second illegal gun possession charge already this year.
Amari Brown, 7, was shot and killed when a shooter hit him instead of his father, who had been arrested a total of 45 times. McCarthy feels that the gang member father should not have been back out on the streets.
“If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive,” McCarthy added. “This has got to stop. We can put another 10,000 police officers on the street and what would happen? Maybe we’ll arrest Mr. Brown 90 times and nothing will happen.”
During the 2014 Fourth of July weekend in Chicago, 80 shootings and 16 fatalities occurred. A total of 3,400 illegal guns have been seized in the city so far this year.
“It’s real simple. Gun possessors are potential murderers. If they don’t learn a lesson for carrying the gun, they keep carrying the gun. They get into an argument, now instead of fighting, they shoot,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy’s comments about gun owners angered many Second Amendment advocates. Legal gun owners have been trained and passed a background check — and are not reportedly among those arrested over the weekend.
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