Chicago sees improvement in 4th of July weekend violence, but mass shooting in Englewood mars celebration
Chicago sees improvement in holiday weekend violence, but Englewood mass shooting mars celebration
It’s traditionally one of the most violent weekends in the city of Chicago. And while they were still plenty of shootings and murders over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Chicago police said compared to last year, there was also significant improvement.
CHICAGO - It’s traditionally one of the most violent weekends in the city of Chicago.
And while they were still plenty of shootings and murders over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Chicago police said compared to last year, there was also significant improvement.
"I still think that we did a great job overall," said interim CPD superintendent Fred Waller. "You can’t say that to the people who lost their lives, that we did a great job. But the effort was there."
Police said between Friday morning and Tuesday night, 57 people were shot in Chicago, compared to 91 last Fourth of July weekend. And there were nine people murdered, compared to 19 last year.
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Waller credits increased planning and a rainy weekend, but also the hard work of thousands of officers.
"This was a big, big weekend. I don’t remember in all the time I’ve been a policeman, a weekend where we had so many things clustered together," Waller said.
Including the inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street race. City officials say while the rain caused some problems, there were no major security issues.
"We spent a full year planning leading up to this event for the past few days, and we believe the hard work has paid off," said Acting OEMC Director Jose Tirado.
But hours after the holiday weekend ended, there was a mass shooting in Englewood.
A huge outdoor alcohol and fireworks party in the 5600 block of south Ada had been raging since Tuesday afternoon, when around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, someone started shooting.
Chicago police said when they arrived, more shots were fired — over 100 in all.
Waller says in hindsight, police should have broken up the party earlier.
"We want them to have a good time, but not to impede upon other people’s rest or their peace," Waller said. "So we need to do a better job of dispersing some of those large gatherings."
Waller said because of the extraordinary number of shell casings, it’s likely somebody on the outside shot into the party crowd. So far, no suspects are in custody.