This past Memorial Day weekend saw an overall decrease in gun violence compared to last year, according to Chicago police data.
According to preliminary data from 6 p.m. on Friday to Monday at 11:59 p.m., there were 21 shooting incidents over the holiday weekend, with 24 victims involved. Police also said that there were three murders over the weekend.
Tribune reporting from last year said there were at least 31 shooting incidents during Memorial Day weekend of 2024.
Gun violence citywide has also decreased in recent years. As of last week, Chicago police said that the city has seen a 22% decline in fatal shootings and a 32% decline in shootings compared to 2024.
Three fatal shootings were logged over the weekend, according to authorities.
Around 8:40 p.m. Monday in the 1600 block of South Springfield Avenue, a 42-year-old man was discovered by a witness with a gunshot wound to the back, police said. The victim was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
On Saturday around 4:10 p.m. in the 800 block of North Sacramento Avenue, a 46-year-old man was shot in the head while inside a vehicle, police said. The vehicle crashed into a parked car and a light pole.
Earlier that Saturday around 2:45 a.m. in the 1700 block of North Spaulding Avenue, a 35-year-old man inside a vehicle got into an argument with another person who was also in a vehicle. The suspect fired multiple times at the 35-year-old from inside the vehicle, police said.
The victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. The suspect fled the scene.
City officials credited their gun violence prevention response to the drop in shootings over the weekend. The city addressed the typically busy weekend with a police department out in “full force,” broad efforts from street outreach groups and regular coordination calls, Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Garien Gatewood said during a news conference Tuesday.
Every police commander in the department worked during the weekend, Gatewood said. He touted a late-night basketball event in Washington Park and volunteering by city employees in parks.
Mayor Brandon Johnson similarly praised the relative drop in gun violence Tuesday morning, but added that there is “much work that is still ahead.”
