June 3 (UPI) — Chicago police said Monday the city has just seen its deadliest weekend of the year — during which 52 shootings and at least 10 deaths were reported.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters 18 gun-related arrests and seizures of 92 illegal weapons were made Friday through Sunday.
Officials said most of the shootings were gang-related and concentrated on Chicago’s West Side, although four people were shot early Saturday morning in the Streeterville area, near Northwestern University’s law school.
The country’s second-largest city has seen spikes in violence for years.
“Weekends like this remind us of the challenges we face and that they are complex and profound,” Johnson said.
The superintendent, who has often vented frustration about arrests of gun offenders who are quickly released, added, “It’s ridiculous to me that we know when we arrest these gun offenders, half of them get out and are back on the street in a week or less. It’s not that the police officers aren’t arresting them, because they are.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was set to meet with Johnson Monday.
Police Department statistics indicate that despite the weekend violence, shootings are down 13 percent compared to the same period in 2018, and overall crime is down 9 percent.
