Report: 2016 Chicago murders climb over 500 after violent Labor Day weekend
CHICAGO -- Thirteen people were shot to death in Chicago over a violent Labor Day weekend as murders this year climbed over 500, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The shootings come as Chicago sees historic levels of violence. During August, 90 people were murdered,a rate that tied for the most the city has seen in a single month since January 1996, the paper reports.
The 13 dead were reportedly among 65 people shot over the weekend, and of those, nearly half were shot between 6 a.m. Monday and 3 a.m. Tuesday. Police attributed the late weekend shootings to often gang-related retaliatory acts after a days of parties and tense encounters, the paper reports.
Among those injured was a 23-year-old woman who was nine months pregnant and critically wounded in the abdomen. Police say she later delivered a full-term baby boy, but officials would not release information on the infant’s condition. A man she was standing near was also critically injured.
Among those killed was a retired pastor who was fatally shot outside a senior housing complex early Monday, the paper reports. Police took another resident of the home into custody, though no charges have been filed. Witnesses told CBS Chicago the shooter was another retired minister who conducted services at the complex and said the two often argued over religion.
Witnesses told the station the shooter was in a motorized wheelchair when he fired.
Murders stand at 512 for the year to date, according to data analyzed by the Tribune. Updated numbers from the Chicago Police Department were not immediately available Tuesday morning.
The city saw 491 murders in 2015.