Here’s hoping that the upcoming, extended Thanksgiving weekend is actually used as time to give thanks than for shooting others both intentionally and indiscriminately. I won’t hold my breath since criminals typically use holiday weekends for target practice.
This past weekend, at least one person was killed and 19 others were wounded across the Chicagoland area. This is down from the previous weekend which saw at least one person killed and another 26 wounded.
Here’s an example of this past weekend’s violence, according to the Chicago Sun-Times:
[A] 20-year-old man was fatally shot Friday night in University Village.
Rayveon Hutchins was walking at 11:59 p.m. in the 1200 block of South Throop Street when a male approached him and opened fire, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Hutchins, who lived in University Village, was struck in the head, hip and back and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Saturday morning.
And forget walking around outside, you apparently can’t even walk around indoors and be completely safe.
Two 14-year-old boys were simply walking down a hallway in an apartment complex when stray bullets came through the walls and struck both of them. Luckily, both of the boys are okay, but this way past being ridiculous.
Where are you, Mayor Lori Lightfoot? Much like the last mayor, there’s been a lot of empty words muttered about the violence in Chicago. And much like the majority of Chicago politicians, they talk a good game but are rarely able to back it up.
As for the totals, just once I’d like to the numbers stagnate. But, I'm afraid that’s asking for too much.
At least 937 people have been victims of shootings on weekends in Chicago since Memorial Day weekend when MRCTV began keeping track of weekend shootings. Out of those 937 victims, 131 have died as a result of their wounds.
As noted in previous weeks, the Chicago Tribune has been keeping track of the total number of people shot in the city of Chicago for the entirety of 2019. As of November 16th, 2,443 people have been shot in 2019, which means 49 people have been shot in a one week span.