The New York Times reports that at least 27 people were shot, at seven of them fatally, during a 48-hour period over Christmas weekend. The seven fatal shootings brought the total number of homicides in Chicago so far this year to 745, a 56 percent increase from the number at the same time last year. According to the Chicago Tribune, this year is the first in nearly two decades that more than 700 homicides have been recorded in the city.
Blacks made up around 78 percent of the homicide victims; Hispanics around 17 percent.
As for shootings in Chicago, the total now stands at 4,252. That’s an increase of 47 percent from the same time in 2015.
According to this source, the Chicago police have shot 25 people so far this year, killing 11 of them. Both numbers are somewhat lower than usual.
Chicago has long been administered by liberal Democrats. It has among the toughest gun laws in the United States, although these laws apparently are often not backed up by tough criminal sentencing.
Spare a thought for Chicago this Christmas season.
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