Report: 7 killed, 32 wounded over Chicago Memorial Day weekend

CHICAGO — Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson touted his department’s decision to flood city streets Memorial Day weekend with 1,300 extra officers, including teams of bike police, in an effort to cut down on shootings during a weekend often marred by violence.

The Chicago Tribune reports seven people were killed and 32 others were injured in shootings between Friday evening and Monday night. The same number were killed during Memorial Day weekend in 2017, but 45 others were shot. Both years paled in comparison to 2016, when 71 people were shot, six fatally, during the same weekend.

“The shootings were down from ’16 and 2017, and I am happy about that,” Johnson said Monday.

The newspaper reports there was heavy police presence at the city’s beaches and parks, while teams of police reported to neighborhoods where recent shootings occurred, in an effort to ward attempts at retribution.