11 Shot, 5 Killed In Overnight Shootings Throughout Chicago
By Jon Graef in News on Jul 6, 2014 4:00PM
Chicago's violent Fourth of July weekend continued unabated as 11 people were shot, five of whom were killed, in overnight violence from Saturday to Sunday.
According to the Chicago Tribune, that makes 50 people who have been shot this Fourth of July weekend in neighborhoods ranging from Far North Side Rogers Park to South Side Gresham to Near West Side Humboldt Park.
Nine people total have been killed over the long holiday weekend. In July 2014, 53 people have been shot and wounded, while 12 have been shot and killed. Last year, during Independence Day weekend, 72 people were shot.
The statistics get more startling from there. Over a 36-hour period, Chicago police shot five people, including a 16-year-old boy, Warren Robinson, who was three days away from his 17th birthday.
One woman who was shot and killed this weekend, 21-year-old Shambreyh Barfield, moved away from Chicago specifically to get away from the violence. She returned to visit her family, and was gunned down Thursday afternoon, according to DNAInfo.
The fatal shootings from Saturday to Sunday took place in Uptown, Roseland, and West Englewood neighborhoods, respectively.
Chicago wasn't the only city who was touched by violence.
ABC Chicago reports that a police officer in Gary, IN, was shot and killed in the line of duty. News of the shooting is breaking, but ABC reports the officer killed was 47-year-old Jeffrey Brady Westerfield.
Not only does ABC report that today was Westerfield's birthday, but also that he was engaged to be married and leaves behind four daughters. Truly tragic.
One can only hope for a merciful end to all of this mindless violence. But precedent tells all observers that such hopes are futile indeed.