Chicago reels from violent holiday weekend: More than 100 shot, 19 fatally

Gun violence is down across America this year but it peaks every summer and Chicago’s Fourth of July weekend bore the data out, with 109 people shot, including 19 fatally, police said in a Monday news conference.

All of the victims were boys and men ranging in age from 16 to 36 years old, according to police records.

This year’s violent holiday weekend comes as the city and the nation have seen a drop in gun violence in recent years.

As of June 24, Chicago had seen 1,105 shooting incidents so far this year, a 6% reduction from the same time last year and a 12% reduction over the past two years. The city had seen 271 gun deaths as of June 24, a 12% reduction since the same time last year and 16% reduction of the past two years, according to data from the Chicago Police Department.

Last year over the long holiday weekend, 57 people were shot and eight were killed between Friday, June 30 at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, July 4 at 11:59 p.m., according to Chicago police.

July 4 is the peak day for mass shootings in the US, more than any other single calendar day over roughly a decade, a 2023 CNN analysis of the Gun Violence Archive’s mass shooting data since 2014 found. The day with the second most shootings was July 5.

Gun violence is a ‘societal issue’

In the United States, law enforcement statistics and independent researchers have continually pointed to summer months as a time of increased gun violence, with July 1-7 being an especially violent period each year for both mass shootings and individual incidents.

Heat, experts say, can elevate discomfort and aggression – a potential catalyst for violence at a time kids are out of school and warmer weather drives more people outdoors in a country with more guns than people.

“When we look at what happened this weekend, we always like to say that it’s a police issue,” Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said at the news conference. “This is a societal issue. The police cannot be in everybody’s backyard. They cannot be in everyone’s home. They cannot invade every single gathering where there’s a possibility that someone may show up with a gun.”

“Everyone needs to be involved in this, this cannot just be the police department alone,” he added.

On Friday, after dozens of people had already been shot in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement addressing the violence.