7 Fatally Shot, 37 Wounded In Memorial Day Weekend Violence
By Stephen Gossett in News on May 30, 2017 2:17PM
At least 44 people were shot, seven of them fatally, over the long Memorial Day weekend—the unofficial beginning of the summer. The figure is down from last year, when 62 people were shot, according to the Sun-Times. Six people were killed last year during the same weekend. Shootings over Memorial Day weekend in 2016 were the worst in four years, according to the Tribune.
Many of the weekend's shootings were clustered on Monday, with 28 people shot between Friday and Sunday, the Trib notes.
The most recent fatal shooting happened at around 2:50 a.m. in the 5700 block of South Prairie, in Washington Park. A 21-year-old man was shot multiple times —including once in his back, through his heart—by an unknown gunman while he was inside a vehicle, according to police. The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Chicago Police Department announced on Friday afternoon that an extra 1,300 officers would be on patrol on Memorial Day weekend—up from 800 added cops the year prior.