After a bloody holiday weekend, Chicago's top cop couldn't help but show his frustration at a press briefing Monday, comparing Chicago's homicide rate to New York's much lower figure.
"Everybody asks me what's different about New York and Chicago. I can answer that very simply: the proliferation of firearms." (Via WLS-TV)
Chicago's Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is blaming weak gun laws and so-called gang culture after 60 people were injured and 11 killed in the Windy City over 4th of July weekend. (Via Getty Images)
But WLS-TV points out McCarthy is citing a strategically brief window of time for those numbers: from 6 p.m. July 3 to midnight July 7. When widened by just a few hours, the number of injured jumps to 82 with 14 killed.
In his press briefing, McCarthy kept pointing a finger at a system that allows repeat offenders back on the street. One shooting suspect had 21 prior arrests and another was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2007 but was out on parole. (Via WMAQ)
The police department even dramatically increased the number of officers on duty in violent areas, but it hasn't done much to deter shootings. (Via WMAQ)
This isn't even out of the ordinary for Independence Day in Chicago. Last year, 75 people were injured and 12 killed over the holiday weekend.
But while 4th of July weekend is unusually violent, the city has had success in reducing year-round violence. Chicago currently has its lowest homicide rate since 1963. (ViaChicago Sun-Times)
But ABC points out it's still far worse than the homicide rate in New York City, which has more than three times the population of Chicago but had 65 fewer homicides in 2013.
