CHICAGO, Ill. – It’s no secret that this past weekend was one of the deadliest our country has seen in a while, with multiple gunmen opening fire in public settings, claiming the lives of innocent Americans.
But while everyone is paying attention to these mass shootings and the increasing debate over how to properly deal with them, Chicago’s crime rate is continuing to skyrocket when it comes to firearms.
So far in 2019, more than 1,500 people have been reported shot in the Illinois city.
Today is no different. On Sunday, Chicago authorities reported that seven people had been shot in two separate incidents. The Chicago Sun Times reported that just before 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, a suspect inside a black Chevy Camaro opened fire near a playground in the west side of the city.
Fox published that three women, ages 19, 22 and 25, were transported to the hospital, where their conditions were stabilized, the news outlet reported. One man, 20, was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition, while another man, 21, was taken to the hospital but was in critical condition. Two other victims reportedly drove themselves to the medical center.
Then, in a separate incident, one person was killed an another four were wounded in Lawndale, but police have not provided much information about the act of violence.
Since everyone is calling for strict gun legislation following the vicious public attacks this weekend, let’s take a closer look at a city that has arguably some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
They’re not doing so hot.
As of July 28, the Chicago Tribune noted that 1,517 people had been shot. Add up those recent numbers from the past few days and the numbers continue to climb.
Reports said that just this weekend alone, more than three were dead and nearly 40 more were wounded by gunfire.
Back in June, Chicago experienced its bloodiest weekend of the year… so far.
Reports compiled from that weekend show a staggering 50 people shot, with 10 of those shootings becoming fatalities, according to Chicago Police.
The Chicago Tribune published a piece about the spring of violence. That followed Memorial Day Weekend, which boasted another 43 reported shootings. Targeted patrols worked together to try and pull illegal guns off the street.
“Those efforts resulted in 19 arrests on gun-related charges and 81 illegal weapons seized since Friday evening,” Anthony Guglielmi said back in June. “Several people of interest are also being questioned in relation to some of our incidents and detectives have good video leads in others.”
Officials say that most of the gun violence stems from gang activity and retaliations.
So what the hell is actually going on in Chicago?
Strict gun laws are in place. So shouldn’t we see the trend of criminal violence and shootings go down?
