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Chicago’s Violence Rages Over Christmas Weekend

REUTERS/Jim Young

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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At least 11 people lost their lives to Chicago’s raging violence over Christmas weekend.

A reported 33 people were also shot as Chicago’s gun violence skyrockets, reports The Chicago Tribune.

Two of the victims include men who were killed at a party in East Chatham. The men were standing on the porch of a house talking to family members when someone emerged from the alley and shot at least seven people.

Another victim was an 18-year-old male who was shot numerous times in his back and neck as he drove in the Gage Park neighborhood.

Chicago homicides have reached 745 this year, up 56 percent from the 476 homicides at the same time last year, according to Officer Jose Estrada, a spokesman with the Chicago Police Department.

Estrada also told the New York Times that overall shootings have also risen dramatically — total shootings currently stand at 4,252, compared to 2015’s 2,884.

Chicago had a particularly bloody start to 2016. January alone had 51 homicides and 272 gunshot victims. The homicide rate doubled over the last two years — January 2014 had 20 murders, while January 2015 had 29 homicides.

Chicago’s 11th district alone had more homicides committed this year than some cities last year. Ninety-one people have been killed in Chicago’s 11th district so far in 2016, compared to the 24 homicides committed in Seattle in 2015. (RELATED: One District In Chicago Had More Shootings Than Some Major Cities)

Eddie Johnson, the Chicago police superintendent, said Chicago citizens are even begging him to fix the gun violence.

“Every week, I go into these communities, people ask me or beg me, ‘Superintendent, do something about this violence,’” Johnson said. “Everywhere I go, people ask how can we reduce the violence in Chicago.”

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