A horrific Chicago shooting that left a man dead and a woman critically wounded went viral across social media over the weekend, leaving the city struggling to explain why more is not being done to curb the shocking wave of gun violence.
The shooting, which aired on Facebook Live, was just one of several dozen incidents across the city over the weekend. According to Chicago’s ABC affiliate, 65 people were shot, ten were killed, and one woman was stabbed in just over 48 hours.
“There have been at least 54 people shot, five fatally, in shootings across Chicago since Friday night. A woman was also fatally stabbed on Wacker Drive in the Loop,” the outlet reported, noting that the stabbing death occurred downtown near tourist attractions. “In the most recent fatal attack, a man was shot dead while driving in Humboldt Park early Sunday. The 21-year-old was driving a Jeep about 1:40 a.m. in the 3100-block of West Augusta Boulevard when a car pulled up next to him and someone inside fired shots, Chicago police said.”
Those numbers were later revised up to 65 and 10, respectively.
The most shocking attack happened following a “minor traffic incident” in the west side Humboldt Park neighborhood, as people were leaving the city’s Puerto Rican Day parade on Saturday night.
“A man was killed and his wife is critically injured after a shooting broke out following a Puerto Rican Pride Day parade in Chicago, police confirmed,” per the Washington Examiner.
“The couple was ambushed by two to three men, who produced handguns and began shooting at the victims in the 3200 block of West Division Street in Humboldt Park at approximately 9:13 p.m. Saturday night, the Chicago Police Department said in an email,” the outlet added. “The male victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head, causing authorities to rush him to St. Mary’s Hospital, and the female victim was shot in the neck before being transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. The male victim was pronounced dead at the hospital, and the female victim’s condition may change.”
“A Facebook video, allegedly of the incident, shows two victims apparently being pulled out of a car bearing a Puerto Rican flag,” according to the report.
Chicago’s WGN News noted, Monday that, indeed, murders are down overall compared to the same month in 2020, but homicides and shootings are still up year over year.
“While city statistics in the last 28 days shows a drop from 82 murders in 2020 to 62 this year — murders are still up year-to-date over 2020; with 282 in 2021 compared to 269 last year,” WGN News noted. The Chicago Tribune’s numbers are slightly higher. That outlet claims that 294 people have been killed in the city this year. Their numbers also show a steady upward trajectory.
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has been under fire for focusing on racial issues as the city’s crime wave continues, tried to accentuate the positive in a press conference about the bloody weekend on Monday morning.
“The reality is June over June, we’re seeing a downward trend in both homicides and shootings,” she said. “We’re seeing a downward trajectory where other cities are continuing to see a climb. Now, I’m the first to tell you that’s cold comfort to a single person that’s been shot, a single person who’s been killed.”
“Every gun recovered by a Chicago police officer is a deadly force encounter. Also, every gun recovered has a potential to reduce violence from firearms,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown added. “With our whole of government approach, we’re actually starting to bend the curve of violence in the city but for those sensational incidents.”
Lightfoot did call the shooting, captured on video, horrific.
“But as you saw from that horrific video, it wasn’t just one person. There’s one person who dealt the fatal shot but there were others who were standing by, who dragged that poor woman out of the car, the man who was killed literally used his body as a shield and he paid for that with his life,” Lightfoot said. “The fact that happened in our city and so many individuals stood around and seemingly were trying to take advantage of this moment that I believe started with a car accident is a horrific statement, it’s a horrific statement about those men who were involved in that.”
Part of the problem, WGN noted, has been a lack of police; “More officers have left the force this year than all of 2018, data shows,” the outlet said Monday.
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