Thank God for the inclement weather this past weekend in Chicago, because the toll taken in the form of weekend shootings — while still unacceptable — could’ve been a lot worse.
At least three people were killed and another eight were wounded in weekend shootings across the Chicagoland area. This is down from last week where three people were killed, along with another 15 who were wounded in shootings.
Among the dead was a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old “man.”
Here’s an example of this past weekend’s violence, according to the Chicago Sun-Times:
They [the victims] were in a vehicle about 7:20 p.m. in an alley in the 4300 block of West Thomas Street when someone walked up and fired shots at them, Chicago police said. An 18-year-old was struck in the head and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
[…]a 17-year-old boy was killed in Englewood.
About 5 p.m., Rasean Green was in the 7200 block of South Aberdeen Street when someone approached and shot him multiple times, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
There will probably be people on the local Chicago newscasts outraged over the deaths of these young men. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and/or someone from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) will come out and say something about some kind of counter-measures to combat the violence.
At this point, it doesn’t matter what any of them say. Nothing changes. While it’s the last thing I want, more people will get shot. And the politicians will deliver speeches that, in the grand scheme of things, mean absolutely nothing to the victims and their families.
MRCTV will be keeping track of weekend shootings all year long. Following the second weekend of 2020, six people have died in weekend shootings, with another 23 wounded.
The Chicago Tribune, who keeps statistics for all shootings in the city of Chicago reports that, as January 6th, 33 people have been shot in Chicago this year. While it’s still very early in the year, that’s one more person than was shot by that point in 2019.