Another weekend has past in the city of Chicago and more people died in shootings than all unarmed black people who were killed by police in 2019. Finally, some young people in Chicago were seen protesting — or conducting what they called a “love march” — to try and get the city to bring about change by increasing resources towards the most violent neighborhoods. It won’t matter though if the politicians continue not to listen.
At least 13 people were murdered and another 51 were wounded in shootings across the Chicagoland area over the weekend. This is down from the previous weekend, where at least 15 people were killed and another 64 were wounded. It’s great that the numbers dropped, but awful that they still remain so high.
One of the dead was 15-year-old Terrance Malden, who was the weekend’s first victim, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Here are the names and ages of those that lost their lives over the weekend:
Terrance Malden, 15
Shamari K. Smith, 27
Marshawn Thomas, 26
John D. Hammock, 45
Luis Ortiz, 57
Frank Ellis, 33
Sergio Cervantes, 21
MRCTV’s running tally of weekend shootings victims in Chicago is now up to at least 170 people dying from being shot, with another 814 wounded. The Chicago Tribune, which keeps track of all Chicago shootings regardless of the day of the week, noted that 1,901 people have been shot in Chicago in 2020. That number is 550 victims ahead of the same point in 2019.
550! Three weeks ago, the number was 350 ahead of 2019’s pace. Sad.
Maybe members of these communities affected by the violence getting out there and displaying their displeasure with the current state of things in Chicago will wake up both Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But, don’t hold your breath.