Over 100 Shot, 19 Killed During Violent Fourth of July Weekend in Chicago

 Chicago experienced a particularly violent Fourth of July celebration, with more than 100 people shot and 19 killed between Thursday and Sunday. The number of shooting victims, which reached 109, surpassed last year's holiday weekend total, as reported by Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson during a press conference on Monday.

"These are 19 families whose lives are forever altered. Nineteen families who woke up this morning without a son, daughter, mother, father, aunt, or uncle. Over 100 people whose lives will never be the same," stated Mayor Johnson.

The most recent shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Police responding to a well-being check found a 36-year-old man on the kitchen floor, unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Earlier on Sunday, around 5:30 a.m., three men were shot and wounded outside the University of Chicago Hospital. Witnesses reported seeing someone in a dark-grey SUV fire shots at people standing near a parked car in what appeared to be a targeted attack. The victims were transported to the hospital.

Among the incidents with multiple victims was a shooting at Columbus Park in the Austin neighborhood, where two individuals exchanged gunfire and fled the scene, resulting in seven people being shot. A 40-year-old man died after driving himself to Stroger Hospital following the shooting.

Tragically, the youngest victim over the extended holiday weekend was 8-year-old Bryson Orr, who was killed along with two female relatives in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Two other children were also wounded in the shooting.

Superintendent Snelling emphasized the need for community cooperation to prevent further violence. "We cannot bring back these children. If we want to avoid having these types of press conferences and these types of meetings again, we need every single person to step up. We need people to start coming forward. We need people to take responsibility. Help us help you," he said.

In response to the violence, additional officers were deployed across Chicago over the extended holiday weekend. The police department also announced the opening of an Emergency Services Assistance Center on Tuesday at Fosco Park to support those traumatized by the weekend's events.