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At Least 10 Dead, 54 Wounded In Grisly July 4th Weekend Violence

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jul 6, 2015 3:15PM

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Chicago's July 4th Weekend has a tragic reputation for gun violence and other forms of crime, and this year was no exception. At least ten people were killed by gunfire and another 54 wounded from Thursday evening to Monday morning, according to authorities.

Among those victims of gun violence was a 7-year-old boy, Amari Brown, whom authorities said was caught in crossfire aimed at his father Saturday night. During the city's bloodiest stretch of the weekend, at least 32 people were wounded by gunshots over a period of nine hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The numbers are at least lower than 2014's tally; over last year's 4th of July weekend 82 people were shot, five of them by police gunfire and 16 of them fatally. In response to last year's high violence rate, police officials assigned more officers to work this year, according to the Tribune. Crime experts have said it is typical to see violence spike around holidays and the warmest days of the year because people tend to spend more time outside and may drink more alcohol than usual.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told reporters Sunday afternoon that he was angry and saddened over Brown's death, which adds to a growing number of children killed in gunfire not meant for them, according to the Tribune.

"Pick out the names," he said to reporters. "Hadiya Pendleton. Jonylah Watkins. The list goes on and on. This has got to stop."

McCarthy said that Antonio Brown, the boy's father, has a long history of gang activity and arrests, and his son would likely be alive if he had not been out of jail on bail from April gun possession charges. He also said Brown, who brought his son to Stroger Hospital where he was treated after the shooting and later pronounced dead, is not cooperating with the police investigation into his death.

In a Sunday press conference, McCarthy held up papers to show reporters Antonio Brown's arrest history.

"Quite frankly, I've never seen anything like this," McCarthy said. "I don't know how many pages it is. It's probably about 22 pages long."

McCarthy also stressed to reporters that ineffective gun laws around the Midwest were making it harder for the police force to quell the tide of guns flowing into Chicago and accompanying violence. He said police seized "one illegal gun per hour" this weekend.

Illegal gun possession wasn't the only high-profile crime of the weekend. Authorities say they seized more than 2,000 pound of illegal fireworks from one man alone; Vincent Saraceno, 36, was accused of selling the fireworks from a tent in a Melrose Park parking lot, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.