Chicago Hasn't Had A Month This Violent In Two Decades
By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 29, 2016 8:07PM
Nykea's Aldridge's mother, Diann Aldridge, right / Photo: Tyler LaRiviere
After yet another bloody weekend that left 67 people shot and 11 dead from those shootings, Chicago has reached a sad milestone, the Tribune reports: August is now the deadliest month the city has seen in 20 years. Eighty-four people have been killed in homicides so far this month, according to the paper's data, marking the first time a month has broken 80 homicides since October of 1996. Despite the number of times Chicago's spiking violence has made headlines across the country in recent months—whether it's Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade's cousin Nykea Aldridge being killed in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood Friday, Donald Trump and others using Chicago's struggles as a talking point, or mothers of local shooting victims speaking out on a national stage— it's clear the multi-faceted issues that are fueling these tragedies aren't subsiding.
While some smaller cities technically have a higher homicide rate for their size, this year Chicago has experienced more shooting victims and homicides than New York City and Los Angeles combined. Citing Chicago Police and their own data, the Tribune notes the city has seen 487 homicides and more than 2,800 people shot so far this year, which is nearly as many homicides and shooting victims as all of last year: 491 and 2,988 respectively.
The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
With an issue so troubling and rampant, conversations about ways to curb the violence have, of course, been ongoing for years, but in the past few weeks the topic has gotten a particular boost of attention after events like ESPN's nationally broadcast town hall meeting on sports, race and violence was taped at the South Side YMCA last week; Wade's cousin's weekend killing, and Donald Trump claiming if he were elected president, he could fix Chicago's issues "in a week." Over the weekend, Trump doubled down, again, tweeting “Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
Nykea Aldridge (Facebook)
Chicago Police and members of the African American community have vocally disputed Trump's claims, though Police Supt. Eddie Johnson did reportedly invite the Republican presidential nominee to share his apparent "magic bullet" fix with the force if he indeed has one like he says. At this point, the city could use all the help it can get.