The city of Chicago had a deadly Memorial Day weekend. Today (May 30), authorities announced 53 people were shot. Eleven of the shootings resulted in fatalities.
According to ABC News 7 Chicago, the youngest victim was just 2 years old, and the oldest was 77. “We are in a state of emergency in this city and have been for many years, and it is time for us to put the urgency on this public safety crisis just as we did with COVID, just as we currently are doing with the migrant crisis,” former mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green said following the devastating holiday weekend.
Police described the violent weekend saying one man was shot in his face in a South Chicago home. A group of three were wounded while standing outside on the 9100-block of South Harper Avenue during a drive-by shooting. On Saturday (May 27), 35-year-old William Hair was shot and killed as he walked a friend home from a local bar. “He was there with his best friend. They pulled up, didn’t have a chance to do anything. His best friend, thank God, was with him, and valiantly tried to save his life, and performed CPR, helped him breathe. My son fought for his life, but he was gone,” his father told the outlet.
Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, spent his weekend meeting with community members in an attempt to find solutions to the growing crime rates. “Poverty didn’t go away over the weekend. Like we understand that when communities have been disinvested in and traumatized that you are seeing the manifestation of that trauma,” he asserted. Alderman Bennett Lawson previously told the news station that the city increased police presence as they anticipated a busy weekend. “I’m concerned about police manpower to cover not just our neighborhoods, but our large-scale events. We also have a festival and a Cubs weekend happening. So, I worry about those numbers,” he shared.