CHICAGO — At least 84 people were shot in the nation’s third-largest city over the last seven days, a troubling uptick of violence for a metropolis that has seen some recent success in reducing shooting incidents.
The surge in violence, which includes nine people who were fatally shot, comes as Chicago Police Department officials have expressed optimism in recent months that gun violence was on the downward trend in a city that tallied more than 1,400 homicides in 2016 and 2017 combined.
Chicago recorded a 22.3% reduction in murders and a 26.5% decline in shooting incidents for the first four months of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017, according to police department data. April also marked the 14th consecutive month in which Chicago recorded a decline in gun violence, according to police department data.
But as the weather has warmed — Chicago endured the fourth-coldest April on record this year but saw temperatures rise this week — the city has seen a spasm of violence.
At least 41 people were shot between Friday and Sunday, according to police.
by Aamer Madhani