A 7-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among a long list of gun violence victims in Chicago over the weekend.
The Chicago-Sun Times reports, as of Monday morning, 79 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, including nine minors. Of those shot, at the time of this writing, 15 people have died.
According to the Associated Press, the 14-year-old boy, identified by the Chicago-Sun Times as Vernado Jones Jr., was one of eight victims shot in the Englewood neighborhood Saturday before midnight. Police spokesperson Tom Ahern told the AP that two males died on the scene and two more, including Jones, died later at the hospital after four men opened fire on a large street gathering. Four others, including an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old boy, were injured and taken to the hospital. One victim is still in critical condition while the other three are likely to survive.
At the time of this writing, no arrests have been made.
In Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, while standing outside of her grandmother’s house around 7:00 pm, a 7-year-old girl was also fatally shot. The child, identified as Natalia Wallace, was reportedly outside with other children during a Fourth of July party, when three men fired at least 20 shots at bystanders.
A 32-year-old man was also shot during the attack but is in fair condition.
Arrests have yet to be made, but Police are believed to have taken someone in for questioning.
Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, took to Twitter following the tragic shootings and urged the community to offer support to Chicago’s youth.
“Tonight, a 7-year-old girl in Austin joined a list of teenagers and children whose hopes and dreams were ended by the barrel of a gun,” she wrote.
“As families gather to commemorate the founding of our nation, we must ask ourselves: is this who we are as a city or as a country? We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us.
As families gather to commemorate the founding of our nation, we must ask ourselves: is this who we are as a city or as a country? We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 5, 2020
“We must stop the violence before it starts by investing in our children, our neighborhoods and our schools,” she added.
“We must continue to invest in our street outreach work, in police-community relationships, and in healing those who have been harmed by violence so that we can stop the cycle of retaliation.
We must continue to invest in our street outreach work, in police-community relationships, and in healing those who have been harmed by violence so that we can stop the cycle of retaliation.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 5, 2020
“As a city, we must wrap our arms around our youth so they understand there’s a future for them that isn’t wrapped up in gun violence.”
Lightfoot concluded by asking anyone with information regarding the shootings over the weekend to come forward.
This has happened for far too long in our communities. I call on anyone with information on these incidents to come forward or submit a tip anonymously at https://t.co/Tt6O9g49ZD. Those committing these senseless acts of violence will be held accountable.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 5, 2020
Photo courtesy: ©Pexels/Kat Wilcox
Kayla Koslosky has been the Editor of ChristianHeadlines.com since 2018. She has B.A. degrees in English and History and previously wrote for and was the managing editor of the Yellow Jacket newspaper. She has written on her blog since 2012 and has also contributed to IBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com.
