Shootings in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend resulted in 10 deaths and 55 people wounded. The count was lower than last year's holiday weekend, when 82 people were shot and 16 were killed, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Among those killed was 7-year-old Amari Brown, who was shot in the chest while watching fireworks in the Humboldt Park neighborhood Saturday night. Police believe the attack was aimed at Amari's father, who they said is a ranking gang member. Vonzell Banks, 17, was gunned down while he played basketball Friday at a park named after Hadiya Pendleton, a high school student who was shot and killed in 2013, according to the report.
The gun violence was most intense from sundown Saturday until dawn on Sunday, when 30 people were shot across the city. The shootings primarily took place on Chicago's South and West sides.
Over the Fourth of July weekend in 2015, five of those shot were wounded by police. This year, there were no police-involved shootings, according to the report.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the weekend's surge in gun violence demonstrates the number of officers working on the streets does not effectively prevent gun violence as much as having stricter gun laws that keep gun offenders in prison for a long time would, according to the report. Mr. McCarthy has long advocated for more stringent gun laws in Illinois.
"If you think that putting more cops on the street would make a difference, then take a look at the fact that we put a third more manpower on the street for this weekend," Mr. McCarthy said, according to the report. "What's the result? We're getting more guns. Well, that's great. It's not stopping the violence. And it's not going to stop the violence until criminals are held accountable and something is done to stem the flow of these guns into our city."