Late last month in Chicago, 13 people were shot at a house party honoring a man who was himself shot and killed in late April. According to police, the shooting victims ranged in age from 16 to 48-years-old
“It’s a terrible tragedy and frankly and incredible act of cowardice,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a press conference after visiting with victims at a local hospital. “We can’t normalize this kind of behavior.”
Police said the incident unfolded around 12:30 a.m. local time and the Chicago Tribune reported the party was in honor of the birthday of Lonell Irvin, a 22-year-old man who was killed while trying to commit a carjacking.
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The house party shooting happened inside the house and then flowed out into the neighborhood.
“Inside, there was a dispute where shots were fired, several shots,” Fred Waller, Chicago Police Department’s Chief of Patrol, said. “People started to spill out and as they spilled out more shots were fired.”
Shortly after, police apprehended two people as persons of interest.
It was not the only shooting incident that weekend; according to ABC 7 Chicago, at least 34 shot, four fatally, in the city from that Friday to Sunday.
“Despite the rash of weekend violence, police data show shootings and homicides in Chicago have dropped by double digits for two years in a row. The Chicago Tribune reports, those figures are on track to do so again this year. A tally compiled by the paper shows 2,594 people have been shot in the city from the start of the year through Dec. 14,” NPR reported.
In 2016, 4,192 were shot in 2016; 3,466 in 2017 and 2,842 in 2018.
