Twelve other people had been killed and no less than 74 others had been wounded in citywide shootings over Father’s Day weekend, marking the second-worst weekend for gun violence this yr.
A child and 4 youngsters had been amongst the ones shot to dying between Friday night time and Monday morning, in line with information maintained by means of the Chicago Sun-Times. Six different juveniles had been additionally struck by means of gunfire.
The spate of shootings got here simply 3 weeks after 24 other people had been killed and no less than 61 others had been shot right through Chicago’s maximum violent weekend in trendy historical past. That ancient surge in shootings came about amid the unrest that gripped the town when a downtown protest over the officer-involved killing of George Floyd devolved into chaos and ended in days of looting.
‘Bullets destroy neighborhoods’
This weekend’s youngest sufferer, 3-year-old Mekay James, was once shot Saturday night time when any individual opened fireplace at his father as they drove in the course of the 600 block of North Central in Austin, in line with Chicago police and the Cook County scientific examiner’s place of business. Mekay’s father rushed him to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, the place he was once pronounced lifeless a little while later.
During a information convention Sunday, Police Supt. David Brown mourned the boy’s dying and likewise mirrored at the killing of 13-year-old Amaria Jones, who was once shot hours after Mekay when a stray bullet tore thru her condominium in the similar group and pierced her neck as she watched tv.
Amaria died at Stroger Hospital a little while later. government mentioned. Two teenage boys, ages 15 and 16, had been additionally wounded within the assault.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown speaks right through a information convention at City Hall to announce the town’s new Use of Force Working Group, designed to study the Police Department’s insurance policies pertaining to make use of of pressure, Monday morning, June 15, 2020. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
“I put myself in that house, holding that little girl as she struggles to breathe,” Brown mentioned. “I put myself in that hospital, clutching that baby with a bullet hole. Tears are natural reactions to these tragic stories of violence, but we need to do more than just cry.”
As Brown many times driven to “keep violent offenders in jail longer” and revamp the house tracking program, he additionally hammered house the pervasive have an effect on of gun violence.
“Bullets don’t just tear apart the things they strike,” added Brown. “Bullets also tear apart families. Bullets destroy neighborhoods and they ruin any sense of safety in a community.”
Amaria’s dying marks the second one capturing dying in her circle of relatives in not up to 9 months. Her cousin, Derrick Burns, was once gunned down in September within the 700 block of North Cicero, not up to a mile from the place she was once killed. He was once simply 20.
Burns’ mom, Takemia Jones, mentioned the circle of relatives is reeling once more after the dying of her younger niece, who just lately finished 7th grade at John Hay Community Academy and was once described as a candy woman who “loved to dance” and play basketball.
Amaria JonesFb
Takemia Jones lived in the similar construction along with her niece and was once house Saturday night time, although she first of all concept the gunfire was once simply firecrackers. Now as a substitute of serving to Jones hunt for a summer time process, she’s ready to wait her funeral.
“I feel sad and hurt,” she mentioned. “I feel powerless, and I feel there should be more police on the street.”
Earlier Saturday afternoon, two teenage boys had been shot to dying in South Chicago. Charles Riley, 16, and Jasean Francis, 17, had been killed whilst they walked thru an alley within the 7900 block of South Luella Avenue, officers mentioned.
Police have since launched surveillance pictures of the suspected shooter.
‘A line was crossed’
On Sunday afternoon, group leaders held a information convention close to the scene of Mekay James’ killing to supply a…