Chicago saw another violent weekend ahead of Memorial Day with 40 gunshot victims – 6 fatal victims – over the weekend.
Among the 40 gunshot victims, 22 of them were shot on the West Side of Chicago, 10 were on the South Side, and three were in the downtown area, according to police data reported by The Chicago Sun Times on Monday.
10 of the weekend’s victims were shot in two multi-victim shootings on Sunday alone. On Sunday morning, gunmen opened fire on a crowd in Lawndale honoring a teenager previously killed by gunfire. Five people were shot. Later that day, a domestic incident in Humboldt Park left one man dead and four wounded, including the gunman. A police standoff ensued during the incident and the gunman was arrested after an hour.
On Sunday, a man was killed while driving in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, causing him to crash into a median. Another man was killed at a birthday party when gunshots rang out, sending hundreds of people fleeing.
Later Saturday, two men killed one another in a shootout in Englewood. Hours earlier, a man was killed in Chicago Lawn when he was shot in the head.
Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had banned unaccompanied minors from Millennium Park from 6 p.m. on Thursday throughout Sunday. The City Council also voted to strengthen the city’s curfew, barring youth under 18 years of age from being out after 10 p.m.
Lightfoot defended the moves, saying “children are welcome everywhere,” but adding, “The issue is not that they come downtown. Not that they’re coming in big groups. The issue is if the behavior is one that recognizes and respects people, property and spaces.”
Chicago Police Department cancelled officers’ days off and assigned additional officers to work the weekend ahead of expected increases in crime.
Last weekend, 32 people were shot in Chicago.
In 2021, 37 people were shot, three of which were killed, during Memorial Day weekend.