Eighteen people were shot including two fatally on the first night of the Fourth of July holiday weekend in Chicago, just a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced steps to deal with the city’s violence.
The victims included a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the buttocks in South Talman, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
The two fatally shot were men ages 30 and 50 who were were on a porch in South Wells when two gunmen walked up and opened fire. The older man died at the scene and the younger man died at Northwetern Memorial Hospital.
Other victims included a 23-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man who were shot at a West Side party about 5 a.m. on Saturday. They are reportedly in good condition.
Thirteen additional people were wounded in separate shootings between 4:15 p.m. Friday and 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
The victims shot were in different locations throughout the city, as reported by the Chicago Sun Times.
On Friday Sessions issued a statement on the violence in Chicago and announced steps the U.S. Department of Justice is taking to increase public safety.
“No child in America should have to walk the streets of their neighborhood in fear of violent criminals, and yet in Chicago, thousands of children do every day. Last year, more than 4,300 Chicagoans were shot, and more than 700 were killed—the deadliest year in two decades,” said Sessions.
“The Trump Administration will not let the bloodshed go on; we cannot accept these levels of violence,” Sessions said. “That’s why, under President Trump’s strong leadership, we have created the Chicago Gun Strike Force and are sending 20 more permanent ATF agents to Chicago, reallocating federal prosecutors and prioritizing prosecutions to reduce gun violence, and working with our law enforcement partners to stop the lawlessness.”
Sessions also said the Trump Administration will pursue “every avenue available to ensure that states and cities comply with federal immigration law and protect our citizens—rather than protecting the criminal illegal aliens who prey upon them. So-called ‘sanctuary’ policies tie the hands of law enforcement by rejecting common sense and undermining federal laws that would remove criminal, illegal aliens from the streets and remove them from this country.”
The Crime Gun Strike Force will focus on areas of Chicago with the highest amount of firearm violence, according to the DOJ.
The force consists of 20 ATF special agents, six intelligence research specialists, 12 task force officers from the Chicago Police Department, two task force officers from the Illinois State Police, and four National Integrated Ballistics Information Network specialists.
