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Chicago weekend violence leaves 16 dead, at least 30 injured
By Edmund DeMarche
Published June 02, 2020
Officials in Chicago said Monday that the city registered 16 deaths and at least 30 injured in shootings across the region over the weekend.
NBC Chicago reported that one of the incidents involved a drive-by shooting that killed two men who were also in a vehicle. They were shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Chicago Tribune reported last week that there were 191 deaths so far this year as the result of violence. The paper reported that the majority of the deaths were a result of gunfire. The city, under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, saw its deadliest Memorial Day weekend in years, which included 10 deaths and 39 wounded.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the city had the bloody weekends despite a stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus. The city also saw violent protests this weekend over the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker activated 375 Illinois National Guard soldiers to assist with street closures. By evening, the Chicago Transit Authority had suspended all bus and rail lines “at the request of public safety officials" with service resuming Monday. Metra, a commuter rail agency, suspended service Monday in part for “the safety of the public and our employees.”
Lightfoot said in an interview that it is "not an easy decision to call in the Guard."
“The National Guard obviously has certain optics to it, may come with a certain level of equipment and presence. We don’t want to squander that resource and make sure that we only use it when truly there is a time of need,” she said.
Lightfoot made an appeal last month after another outbreak in violence in the city and asked residents to help police respond to these incidents.
“People know who the shooters are. You know who you are. These cowards cannot be given any shelter,” she said, according to NBC Chicago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
https://www.foxnews.com/us/16-dead-at-least-30-injured-in-second-straight-weekend-of-violence-in-chicago