Chicago, Illinois, has long held a dubious reputation for violent crime, resulting in a mounting toll of casualties.
Despite the recent Christmas holiday, the Windy City saw another string of shootings last weekend that replaced the season’s joy and glad tidings with the latest round of terror and bloodshed.
Another violent weekend
Local reports indicate that, as of Monday, a total of 27 people had been shot — seven of them fatally — over the course of the preceding weekend. The first death attributed to violent crime came on Friday afternoon when a 57-year-old man was reportedly shot multiple times on South Kenwood Avenue.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the victim was identified as Dwayne Malette. He was pronounced dead hours after the shooting by medical personnel at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Early on Sunday morning, a 24-year-old woman was reportedly inside a parked vehicle when she was fatally shot. Two males were occupants in the same car and were also shot, but received non-life-threatening injuries.
An unknown victim believed to be in his late teens was shot later the same morning in his back and shoulder. He died a short time later in the hospital.
At least some Chicagoans are not taking the local crime epidemic in stride. One 29-year-old gun owner reportedly drew his weapon in self-defense when confronted with a suspected armed robber.
“Keep our name out of your mouth”
According to police, the man holds a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon and was at work when he opened fire on another man with a gun. The alleged would-be attacker was subsequently pronounced dead after he was transported to Stroger Hospital.
Of course, Chicago boasts some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, so residents are typically unable to easily obtain a permit to carry a firearm.
In addition to restrictions placed on the type of guns and ammunition available for sale, Illinois imposes onerous fees to those interested in going through the process of obtaining a concealed-carry permit.
For her part, Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has condemned the violence, which she attributes in part to the comparatively less severe gun laws in other states. She expressed her position in a social media exchange with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) last year.
“60% of illegal firearms recovered in Chicago come from outside IL—mostly from states dominated by coward Republicans like you who refuse to enact commonsense gun legislation,” Lightfoot tweeted at the time. “Keep our name out of your mouth.”
The post 27 shot, 7 killed in Chicago during Christmas weekend violence: Report first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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