Forty people were shot in Chicago over the Christmas weekend; 12 were killed. Via USA Today:
The stress of living in challenging circumstances and the usual ebbs and flows of violence might have been some of the reasons why 40 people were shot over the weekend in Chicago, national anti-violence advocates based there told USA TODAY.
Of those who were shot, 12 died, according to multiple media reports.
The city already has been in the national spotlight for increasing gun violence in recent years. The Chicago Police Department in a statement sent via e-mail Monday night said that the majority of the shootings were attacks or retaliation during holiday gatherings by gang members.
“Ninety percent of those fatally wounded had gang affiliations, criminal histories and were pre-identified by the department’s strategic subject algorithm as being a potential suspect or victim of gun violence,” the statement read.
In addition to responding to the 40 shootings, the Chicago Police Department also confiscated 45 guns from city streets starting on Friday, and that number is slightly larger than what is typical, according to the statement.
The statistics join those that have been building up in recent years in the Midwestern city, which, according to the Chicago Tribune, experienced its most violent month in August in 20 years. By Aug. 29, the city had logged 78 homicides — the highest number since October 1997, which saw 79 homicides, the Tribune reported. By August, the city had logged more homicides than Los Angeles and New York City combined, according to the Tribune.