After six more deaths over the weekend, homicides in Chicago continue to outpace last year.
There have been 391 homicides this year in Chicago, four more than last year. Last year, violence in Chicago reached levels that had not been seen in 20 years according to the Chicago Tribune.
However, the number of people shot is down from 2,337 to 2,112. The number of shooting victims from January 2016 to December 31, 2016 was 4,368. These statistics come after Chicago experienced one of its most violent Fourth of July weekends in recent years with at least 102 people shot during the week of the holiday.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson acknowledged the sharp rise of gun arrests as evidence of the police actively fighting crime.
“What we are doing is focusing on the right people. But at the end of the day, Chicago has a gun problem.”