The week both began and ended with mass shootings. In Chicago, it was “a miracle no one was killed”.
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A mass shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood has left 13 people wounded, including a 3-year-old child, according to police. On Friday, Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Amina Greer told Reuters, “I can tell you it’s an ongoing investigation.” She also said that no arrests have been made, but police believe the “motive for the shooting was gang-related.”
According to the Chicago Tribune:
Police say at least one gunman walked up to the park’s basketball court in the 1800 block of West 51st Street around 10:15 p.m. Thursday and opened fire. Thirteen people who were on the court or were watching the game were hit, many of them in the arms or legs.
The boy, Deonta Howard, was standing on the court and was shot near the ear, the bullet exiting through his cheek, according to police and relatives. His family said the boy is expected to recover but will need plastic surgery.
Three of those wounded, including Deonta, were in serious to critical condition this morning. The others ranged from serious to good condition, including a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s press office reports that he cancelled an appeareance in New Jersey and several meetings in Washington to return to the city to address the mass shooting. He released a statement on Friday saying:
Senseless and brazen acts of violence have no place in Chicago and betray all that we stand for. The perpetrators of this crime will be brought to justice and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I encourage everyone in the community to step forward with any information and everyone in Chicago to continue their individual efforts to build stronger communities where violence has no place.
At a news conference held Friday morning, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said that it was a “miracle” there were no fatalities, and he renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons. He said, “A military-grade weapon on the streets of Chicago is simply unacceptable … Illegal guns. Illegal guns. Illegal guns drive violence.” He also added that he is in “constant contact” with the mayor concerning the incident and that he is “confident we’re going to come to a quick conclusion on this, as we have on other high-profile” shootings in the city.
Photo: AP File/Paul Beaty