Merry Christmas, Chicago: 27 Shot Over The Weekend; 7 Dead

It’s been a banner year for the Windy City. City officials are hoping the Cubs first World Series victory since 1908 is going to overshadow one of the deadliest years on record. 27 people were shot and 7 killed over the Christmas weekend, bringing the total number of homicides to 745, a 56% increase over last year.

More have been murdered in the city of Chicago this year than all of Los Angeles County (669) with its population of 10 million people. New York City continues to be very safe with 325 homicides through December 18th. The NYC population totals 9 million.

Officer Jose Estrada, a spokesman with the Chicago Police Department, said in a telephone interview on Sunday that the total number of homicides so far this year was 745, a 56 percent increase from 476 at the same time last year.

This year was the first time in nearly two decades that more than 700 homicides had been recorded in the city, The Chicago Tribune reported this month.

Officer Estrada said the total number of shooting victims so far stood at 4,252, up 47 percent from 2,884 at the same time in 2015. Data of the shootings over Christmas weekend logged by The Chicago Tribune reflected a relentless crime blotter: Nearly all of the people shot were men, the majority under 30.

The statistic the NY Times leaves out? The majority of them are also black.

The figure for the number of people shot — over four thousand — is astonishing. Chicago is a beautiful city. I’ve been there several times and as long as you’re in the right neighborhood, the likelihood you’ll be a crime victim is small.

For people who live and work there, many don’t have a choice. Their income dictates where they live and that leaves them vulnerable. Look at the list of victims over the last month. When you see people as young as 9 and as old as 73, you know they’re not out running with gangs. Forget the number of men under 30. Look at the list again and note how many of the victims are under the age of 18. These kids aren’t making it to adulthood without facing the barrel of a gun.

Unfortunately, the residents there are stuck with a political class who want to blame all of the problems on “easy access” to guns. Naturally, when officials are pressed on why Chicago has such problems New York City does not, they don’t have an answer.

They don’t want to have to address the real issue. It’s much easier to blame the NRA.

Heckuva job, Rahm. 

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