At Least 60 People Were Shot Over July 4 Weekend In Chicago

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, listens as Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy speaks at a news conference surrounded by the members of families affected by gun violence Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Chicago. Emanuel and o... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, listens as Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy speaks at a news conference surrounded by the members of families affected by gun violence Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Chicago. Emanuel and other officials gathered in a renewed push for legislation to increase gun crime penalties. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) MORE LESS
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At least 60 people were shot over July 4 weekend in Chicago and 11 of them were fatally injured, according to multiple Chicago news outlets.

The Chicago Tribune, which said at least 82 people were shot and 14 of them were shot fatally between Thursday and Sunday, described the weekend as “the greatest burst of gun violence Chicago has seen this year.”

Of those shot, five of them were shot by police in 36 hours between Friday and Saturday, according to the Tribune.

“It’s ground hog day in Chicago. People ask me what the difference is between New York and Chicago and it’s the proliferation of firearms,” Chicago Police Superintendent Gary McCarthy (pictured, left) said according to Chicago’s WLS on Monday.

McCarthy also said the police department’s method for handling holiday weekends is being reviewed.

“I’m going back, figuring out what happened, and we’re going to prevent it from happening again, McCarthy said. “We’re not throwing out the baby with the bath water.”

A day earlier, at a ribbon-cutting of a new playground, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) refused to comment on the weekend’s gun violence, according to the Sun-Times.

Later on Monday Emanuel released a statement on the shooting violence:

The number of shootings and murders that took place over the holiday weekend is simply unacceptable, and points out that we still have work to do. The solution does not just include policing – although we’ll continue to look for ways to put more police where they’re needed. We also have to give our young people alternatives to the street, and as a community we need to demand more of ourselves and our neighbors. This violence is unacceptable wherever it occurs in our city and all of us need to take a stand. The only way we will meet this challenge to our future is to join with one another and create a partnership for peace.

Gun violence has been an ongoing issue in Chicago that’s gotten national attention. In February of 2013 President Barack Obama visited Chicago (his hometown) after a particularly violent month in the city due to shootings to address gun violence there.

This story was updated.

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