XPost: alt.politics.republicans, chi.politics, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: de@clined.org   
      
   Gun violence is down across America this year but it peaks every summer   
   and Chicago’s Fourth of July weekend bore the data out, with 109 people   
   shot, including 19 fatally, police said in a Monday news conference.   
      
   All of the victims were boys and men ranging in age from 16 to 36 years   
   old, according to police records.   
      
   This year’s violent holiday weekend comes as the city and the nation have   
   seen a drop in gun violence in recent years.   
      
   As of June 24, Chicago had seen 1,105 shooting incidents so far this year,   
   a 6% reduction from the same time last year and a 12% reduction over the   
   past two years. The city had seen 271 gun deaths as of June 24, a 12%   
   reduction since the same time last year and 16% reduction of the past two   
   years, according to data from the Chicago Police Department.   
      
   Last year over the long holiday weekend, 57 people were shot and eight   
   were killed between Friday, June 30 at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, July 4 at 11:59   
   p.m., according to Chicago police.   
      
   July 4 is the peak day for mass shootings in the US, more than any other   
   single calendar day over roughly a decade, a 2023 CNN analysis of the Gun   
   Violence Archive’s mass shooting data since 2014 found. The day with the   
   second most shootings was July 5.   
      
   Gun violence is a ‘societal issue’   
   In the United States, law enforcement statistics and independent   
   researchers have continually pointed to summer months as a time of   
   increased gun violence, with July 1-7 being an especially violent period   
   each year for both mass shootings and individual incidents.   
      
   Heat, experts say, can elevate discomfort and aggression – a potential   
   catalyst for violence at a time kids are out of school and warmer weather   
   drives more people outdoors in a country with more guns than people.   
      
   “When we look at what happened this weekend, we always like to say that   
   it’s a police issue,” Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry   
   Snelling said at the news conference. “This is a societal issue. The   
   police cannot be in everybody’s backyard. They cannot be in everyone’s   
   home. They cannot invade every single gathering where there’s a   
   possibility that someone may show up with a gun.”   
      
   “Everyone needs to be involved in this, this cannot just be the police   
   department alone,” he added.   
      
   On Friday, after dozens of people had already been shot in Chicago, Mayor   
   Brandon Johnson released a statement addressing the violence.   
      
   “We are devastated by the recent violence that has left our city in a   
   state of grief and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and   
   communities impacted by these recent events,” Johnson said in the   
   statement. “The City of Chicago is committed to ensuring the safety of all   
   residents and visitors.”   
      
   The city had canceled time off for police officers to “maximize presence   
   and ensure prompt incident response,” activated an emergency services   
   assistance center to provide support to people in the community and would   
   hold a community rally Friday afternoon to “promote bonding, support, and   
   healing,” according to Johnson.   
      
   But the efforts did not end the shootings.   
      
   Snelling urged public cooperation and tips to lead detectives to suspects,   
   especially those who “make the choice” to shoot women and children.   
      
   “Those people have to be taken off the street,” Snelling implored. “They   
   have to be put away. If we’re not doing that, then we’re failing other   
   families. We’re failing people in our city.”   
      
   One of those killed over the weekend was an 8-year-old-boy who was shot   
   alongside two other boys, ages 5 and 8, according to the Chicago Police   
   Department’s online records.   
      
   Several 15- to 16-year-olds were also among those shot over the weekend,   
   police say.   
      
   In another instance, eight people between the ages of 18 and 74 suffered   
   gunshot wounds and in a separate incident, seven people aged 15 to 40   
   years old were shot. The 40-year-old died, according to the police   
   department.   
      
   Officers are training for the upcoming Democratic National Convention next   
   month to be better prepared for potential protests or civil unrest,   
   Snelling said.   
      
   “Along with that, we have been working on a neighborhood plan to make sure   
   that we’re not pulling resources that are necessary to keep our   
   neighborhoods safe to place down and around the footprint of the DNC,” he   
   said.   
      
   “Generations of disinvestment and deep disenfranchisement” have led to the   
   state of violence within the city, Johnson said during Monday’s news   
   conference. He is pushing for more federal resources to increase   
   intervention and prevention of gun violence, including “more boots on the   
   ground” to help get illegal guns off the streets.   
      
   “We are going block to block, neighborhood by neighborhood, to make sure   
   that the city is safe and ultimately stop this violence,” said Johnson.   
   “These are not just numbers on pages. These are our fellow Chicagoans.”   
      
   This story has been updated with additional information.   
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/08/us/chicago-shootings-july-fourth-   
   weekend/index.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)