Chicago Gun Crime Statistics 2017: Records Show That More Gun-Related Violence Happened in the First Half of the Year
Due to the violent Fourth of July celebration during the weekend, Chicago already recorded a total of 323 people killed due to gun violence during the first six months of 2017.
According to reports, the current number of people who have died due to gun shot in the third largest city in the U.S. is now one incident higher compared to the statistics recorded in 2016. This might lead to the second consecutive year that Chicago incurred a total of 700 gun-related deaths in the city.
Over the Independence Day weekend, 15 individuals were killed between the night of Friday, June 30, until the morning of Wednesday, July 5. Over 100 people were also reportedly wounded during the celebrations.
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However, the Chicago Police Department reportedly claims that the overall crime rate in the city actually dropped 14 percent from that in 2016, when the city recorded a total of 4,331 shooting victims as well as 762 homicide incidents.
Chicago Chief Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi explained in an interview with Chicago Tribune that most of the shooting incidents in the city stemmed from small misunderstandings. His examples include an argument regarding seating arrangement, as well as a minor confrontation between a vehicle driver and a bicyclist.
He also claims that several of the shooting incidents were "retaliatory," and the celebratory drinking that happened during the weekend made things escalate quickly.
Cook County Judge John Lyke, whose son Duriel became one of the victims during the holiday violence in the city, revealed his views about the high rising number of gun-related violence in Chicago in an interview with CNN's affiliate WLS-TV station.
"This city is under siege with the violence and what I want these young men, young ladies to know that are out here with the guns is that life isn't a video game," the former prosecutor and defense attorney stated. "You can't hit reset. Not only to the victims of violence but to the perpetrators' families as well. They didn't choose to have this perpetrator pull that trigger, but they, too, will suffer if that perpetrator is caught and sentenced to prison."
Lyke's son is currently recovering from head and leg injuries after the shooting incident.
