104 Shot, 14 Killed In Chicago Weekend Violence; Other ‘Defund The Police’ Target Cities See Major Gun Crime Incidents
By Emily Zanotti
Chicago saw a very violent Father’s Day weekend, with more than 100 people shot and at least 14 killed, including five children, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The number of shootings makes last weekend the most violent weekend of 2020 for the midwestern metropolis, but hardly its deadliest. The last weekend of May saw more than 20 people killed but only 85 people were shot.
The youngest victim of the weekend’s violence was just three years old.
“A 3-year-old boy was fatally wounded when someone opened fire at his father while they were driving in [Chicago’s Austin neighborhood],” the Sun-Times says. “The toddler, identified as Mekay James, was struck in the back about 6:25 p.m. when someone in a blue Honda pulled behind the black SUV the boy’s 27-year-old father was driving in the 600 block of North Central Avenue and fired several rounds, authorities said.”
The police believe Mekay’s father was the intended target of the shooting.
Four other minors were killed, including two teenage boys, who were shot in an alley on the city’s south side, and a teenage girl, who was shot in the neck while sitting in the front room of her home.
In total, 12 minors were among the 104 people shot.
Chicago has seen a marked uptick in violence since allowing coronavirus-related lockdowns to expire and moving into “Phase 1” of reopening the city. Parts of the city, though, are seeing some of the worst gun violence in years, with dozens being shot each weekend — often more than in any year since 2012 when the city reached a peak.