Police in Chicago have confirmed that July 2016 was the deadliest July in ten years. Meanwhile, as of Aug. 4, at least 400 people have been murdered in the city, statistics show.
Local news website DNAInfo, which keeps a tally on the number of murders in Chicago, said its “2016 death toll” is now exactly at 400. Last year, there were 493 homicides in the city.
The Chicago Police Department said that 65 homicides were recorded in July 2016---the worst since July 2006, according to the Chicago Tribune. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the homicide total last month was still lower than in June, which saw 72 murders. Last July, 53 were killed, ABC7 reported.
In a highly-publicized case last month, 6-year-old Tacarra Morgan---one of the youngest shooting victims---was shot in the stomach. She survived, but has not been the same.
“You can tell something is wrong. She lost weight, she doesn’t walk like she used to,” Johnnie Morris, Tacarra’s grandmother, told ABC7.
In May 2016, almost 400 people were shot and 66 people were killed---making it the deadliest May since 1995, when 75 people were gunned down, the Tribune reported at the time, citing Chicago Police Department records.
“We shake our heads and ask why some of our communities on the West and South sides are being held hostage,” Johnson said, according to the paper. “Until we hold repeat offenders accountable, we’re going to continue to see this violence,” he added.
At total of 2,417 people have been shot in Chicago during the first seven months of 2016; there were 2,988 shootings in 2015, according to the Tribune.
Two boys, 14 and 15, were shot this week, according to the newspaper. One of the teens was shot in the leg at Houston Playground Park---just a few blocks away from President Barack Obama’s home---and was taken to a nearby children’s hospital.
From Thursday to Friday, at least seven have been wounded across the city. The victims include a 16-year-old boy and a 25-year-old man, who were both shot in the leg, according to the Tribune.
