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Chicago was on fire last weekend with bullets flying across the city. At least 63 were hit, with six fatalities, in Labor Day weekend violence including a 4-year-old boy. Although a heatwave sprawled across much of the East Coast during Labor Day weekend, it was the streets of Chicago that were on fire. Chi-town is no stranger to reckless behavior, particularly in the warmer months.
Mychal Moultry, Jr., the 4-year-old boy, who was randomly shot in the head, died Sunday from his injuries. Moultry was one of at least eight children and dozens of other people who were wounded in Chicago during a weekend punctuated by gun violence. According to Rahman Muhammad, deputy chief of the Chicago police detective division, the 4-year-old, was getting his hair done inside of his home when two bullets blew through the window hitting him in the head. This was the beginning of a holiday weekend spiked with violence.
Police Superintendent David O. Brown told reporters that shootings involving children typically fall into three categories: Someone else is being targeted while young people are innocent bystanders; the shootings occur at homes while the targeted people are visiting relatives and, again, the children are bystanders; and children are targeted in cases of mistaken identity. Brown asked residents to come forward if they have information so the children can have justice, even if they may be wary of the police. He added:
Not in a condescending way, I would encourage you as a family to protect your children from people in your family on the wrong side of the law.
He then spoke directly to people who initiate or are the targets of gun violence.
Why are you continuing to be around young people — our children? That’s on you. We will hold offenders accountable, but why are you living a life of crime involving innocent 4-year-olds?
Stay away from children if you want to live that life. These innocent young children should not be the byproduct of your criminal behavior.
Chicago burned with gun violence as bullets flew across the city over the weekend. Violent crime is surging in cities across the country. President Biden has encouraged communities to use the $350 billion for states included in the Covid-19 relief plan passed by Congress in March to hire police officers
and put in place new crime prevention programs. In July, the Justice Department chose Chicago and four other cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, and New York — as the focus of the administration’s effort to combat gun trafficking.
Allegedly, Chicago is a city where people can purchase guns from almost anywhere, even gas stations. It seems nearly impossible to control all things gun-related. Once again, Chicago has found its city in the spotlight over gun violence where at least 63 people were shot over Labor Day weekend. Among that number is 4-year-old Mychal Moultry, Jr., who died after being shot in the head.
By Cherese Jackson (Virginia)
Sources:
NBC News: Boy, 4, shot in head, killed as gun violence plagues Chicago’s Labor Day weekend
ABC News: Chicago shootings: At least 63 shot, 6 fatally, in Labor Day weekend violence across city
NBC News: Biden pitches crime plan to local leaders amid wave of gun violence
Image Credits:
Top Images Courtesy of Max Pixel – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Mike Lewinski’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Featured Image Courtesy of Office of Public Affairs’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
