Officials in Chicago said Monday that the city registered 16 deaths and 30 injuries in shootings over the weekend, coming as protests over the death of George Floyd roiled the city and others across the United States.
Authorities confirmed to local news outlets that the most recent shooting occurred on Sunday afternoon when a suspect in a vehicle opened fire on another vehicle in East 95th Street. A 31-year-old man and a 39-year-old man were both shot and killed in the latest fatal incident.
According to a tally from the Chicago Tribune, 191 murders have been reported so far in Chicago this year, with the majority of deaths coming due to shootings. During Memorial Day weekend last month, 10 people were killed and 39 were wounded.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker activated 375 Illinois National Guard soldiers to assist with street closures amid the sometimes violent George Floyd protests. The Chicago Transit Authority also suspended rail and bus lines “at the request of public safety officials.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it was not an “easy decision” to activate the National 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, according to WTTW.
“Their job is to provide a perimeter. They’re not going to be on the front lines,” Pritzker said of the activation. “They’re really there to provide a perimeter so that the center of the city doesn’t get overtaken in the way that it seemed to in certain times last night.”
