Among the victims in Chicago this July 4 weekend: 7-year-old Amari Brown, an accidental victim of a bullet that was likely meant for his father. At least 47 other people were wounded in shootings, which will do little to help Chicago’s reputation as a gun crime hotspot.
The shootings happened despite the city increasing the number of police officers on the streets by 30% over the weekend.
“We need to repair a broken system. Criminals don’t feel the repercussions of the justice system,” said police superintendent Garry McCarthy at a press conference. He said Amari’s father had been arrested 45 times, and should not have been on the streets.”If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive,” he said. ”I’m angry and I’m frustrated that we’re here talking about another senseless murder.”
McCarthy also blamed lax gun laws in the city, noting that officers seized about one illegal firearm per hour this weekend.
This year’s death toll is lower than last year’s Independence Day weekend, when 15 people died and 69 were injured in shootings. But Chicago had more than 200 killings through June this year, and 1000 shootings—more than a 20% increase from the same period in 2014.
During a vigil for Amari Brown, family friend Michael Singleton emphasized that Chicago’s problem is a vicious cycle. ”All of you all will be back out here next week, on another corner, filming the same thing, from somebody else, saying exactly what I’m saying,” he told the media.
A woman told the Chicago Tribune she found out about the shooting from her nine-year-old son. “I was shocked he knew the difference between gunshots and fireworks,” she said.