AT least 11 people were shot dead and about 70 wounded in a weekend burst of violence in Chicago. Police on Monday attributed the dozens of shootings to gangs, the illegal flow of guns and sweltering August heat that drew more people outside. The victims ranged in age from 11 to 63, according to police. One teenage girl died after being shot in the face. A teenage boy was fatally shot riding a bike Sunday afternoon. Other shootings took place at a block party and a funeral. Even for Chicagoans all too accustomed to violence in parts of the city, the weekend stood out. By way of comparison, at least seven people were killed and 32 wounded during the long Memorial Day weekend, the Chicago Tribune reported. “Our souls are burdened,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “It is unacceptable to happen in any neighborhood of Chicago. We are a better city.” Most of the shootings happened in poor neighborhoods on the West and South Sides where gangs are entrenched, said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, standing next to the mayor. Johnson noted that homicides in the city are down by around 20 percent from last year. But he said gang members and others arrested on gun charges aren’t dealt with harshly enough. Johnson said at the morning news conference there had been no arrests in any of the weekend shootings. Days before the attacks, some 200 protesters marched through a well-to-do North Side neighborhood and briefly closed Lake Shore Drive, calling for more resources to stem violence in poor areas. (SD-Agencies) |