After a violent Father’s Day weekend, Chicago police are trying to focus on their successes while admitting the city has a long way to go.
This Father’s Day weekend was one of the most violent so far this year. Chicago police continue to report violence is down which is good, but it’s still not a success story.
It was a jam packed weekend in the city: events for Father’s Day, the Pride Fest in Lake View and the Puerto Rican parade in Humboldt Park. But still, the holiday weekend was a violent one.
“Most of Chicago celebrated and enjoyed this weekend. However, we saw an unacceptable and frustrating level of gun violence in several communities,” said Anthony Riccio of CPD.
54 people were shot in the 60 hours from Friday evening to early Monday morning — 9 of them died of their injuries.
First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio says they were working those cases and being proactive.
“Since Friday, 43 were arrested on gun related charges and 44 illegal guns were taken off the street,” he said.
He says the best deterrent to stop people from carrying illegal guns? Jail time – which is not always guaranteed in Chicago.
“Word gets out on the street, don’t be caught with a gun because you will be caught going to jail and jurisdictions that have that law we see reduction in their violence. Here we are fighting that battle constantly,” Riccio said.
Chicago police say so far this month, murders are down 26 percent compared to last year.
