As Thursday and Friday kicked off the long Independence Day weekend, it was clear that Chicago was going to have a very violent Fourth. By Sunday night, the toll came in: up to 47 shot and 10 killed, including an 8-year-old boy.
Thursday and Friday were harbingers of the violence to come, as 12 had already been shot and five killed by Friday afternoon.
But the toll of violence continued to grow as the hours ticked by into the holiday weekend.
On Saturday, a 7-year-old boy, Amari Brown of Humbolt Park, was shot and killed by gangbangers looking to shoot and kill the boy’s gang member father. The father is refusing to help police investigate the shooting. Chicago police called the boy’s father, Antonio Brown, a “ranking gang member.”
By Sunday evening, 48 Chicagoans had been wounded and 10 killed, bringing the year’s total to 1,345 shot and 202 killed.
For his part, Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy continues to fall back on the same excuses he has made since he became the police superintendent–that Chicago needs even stricter gun laws.
But as the violence continues unabated, many are calling for McCarthy to be fired for his inability to stop the onslaught.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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