Shootings and other violence during the extended Fourth of July weekend have left at least 33 people dead, including 11 in Chicago, and injured dozens more nationwide, authorities said.
The Fourth of July historically is one of the nation's deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the holiday a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. And a year before that, seven people died in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago.
Violence and mass shootings often increase in the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teens out of school and hotter temperatures.
Chicago ‘in state of grief'
In Chicago alone, 11 people had been killed and 55 wounded in shootings as of Friday morning during the extended July Fourth weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The violence included a mass shooting on Thursday that killed two women and an 8-year-old boy.
The recent violence ''has left our city in a state of grief,'' Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
A community rally was planned for Friday evening, and the city will beef up police presence over the weekend, Johnson said in a statement.
''We are devastated by the recent violence that has left our city in a state of grief and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and communities impacted by these recent events,'' Johnson said.