Chicago suffered another violent weekend over the Independence Day holiday, with at least 88 people shot since Friday, 14 of whom were killed, according to new reports.
Among the 74 people injured through Monday were children, including a five-year-old girl who was shot in the leg and a six-year-old girl, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
A Chicago police commander and a sergeant were also shot while dispersing a crowd, with the commander struck in the foot and the sergeant shot in the leg, according to the outlet. Both were reportedly transported to Stronger Hospital, where their condition is not known.
City officials had been bracing for an especially violent holiday weekend, which Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown dubbed “the most critical weekend of the year” due to its historically high rates of violence.
After Chicago aldermen called a special meeting of the city council on Friday, the department announced a July 4 weekend violence mitigation plan, which focused on 15 violence-prone areas within the city, and canceled days off for officers, who instead worked 12-hour shifts.
“So it’s really data driven,” Chicago police Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott said of the plan. “We want our activity in the same locations where the crimes are occurring.”
“What I can say will happen is that the Chicago Police Department will give its all,” Brown said.
The meeting notice, signed by 19 aldermen, said the goal of the officials convening was to “inform the residents of Chicago that its leaders are doing everything possible to create safe neighborhoods.”
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