Pfleger, Chicago community demand action amid surging bloodshed
CHICAGO - Father Michael Pfleger and community leaders are demanding action after a record number of murders in Cook County this year.
Last week, the county crossed the staggering number of one-thousand killings.
On Tuesday, Pfleger laid out a list of ten demands to stop the bloodshed.
Among some of the demands on the list were protection for people who testify in court and more detectives working to solve murders.
Pfleger also called on the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to charge anyone who fires a gun illegally and more mental health support for police officers, since Chicago has one of the highest police suicide rates in the country.
"I've never seen 1,000 homicides for the whole 17 years I've been in this office," said Ponni Arunkuma, Cook County's Chief Medical Examiner.
Of the victims, 156 have been children or teenagers, 96 percent of the victims have been African American or Latino and homicides overall are up 40 percent compared to 2019.
"Our numbers are always more than both New York and Los Angeles put together, and to see that number increase even more is concerning," Arunkuma said.
Even though more than 90 percent of the homicides were shootings, Pfleger says gun violence remains a "back-burner issue" in Chicago.
"If I had an African American or Hispanic son right now — nine,10, 11-years old — I would get him out of the city. If I couldn't afford to move, I would send him somewhere. It's a killing field out here," Pfleger said.
According to the medical examiner's office, the oldest homicide victim of 2021 was 84 years old, the youngest was just one month old.
The deadliest year in Chicago History was 1991, when the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office handled a record 1,221 homicides.