Chicago crime: 27 shot, 7 killed so far in Memorial Day weekend violence

CHICAGO - Chicago has experienced a particularly violent Memorial Day weekend, with seven people shot and killed so far, including a 5-year-old girl.

Reign Ware, the young victim, was struck while sitting inside a parked car on the Near West Side in the 200 block of North Campbell Avenue. The shooting occurred around 3 a.m. on Sunday when gunshots were heard from a group of people standing outside. A 24-year-old man, believed to be Ware’s father, was also shot in the leg.

In total, 27 people have been shot over the weekend, continuing a tragic pattern of heightened violence during Memorial Day in Chicago.

The Chicago Police Department has increased patrols in response to the violence. Commander Bryan Spreyne of the 8th District detailed the department's efforts.

"The police department does have a safety plan in effect for the Memorial Day weekend. We have a lot of officers assigned to different areas. We have a safety plan in effect going into summer for our summer safety plan, in addition to the Democratic National Convention that's coming in. Working together with a lot of the other departments, with the top supervisors in the department, we have a lot of plans working in place. Some involve a cancelation of days off, some involve just deployments of officers."

Official crime statistics for the weekend will be released by the Chicago Police Department on Tuesday.