The (celebratory?) headline read: “Monday could mark 8 days without a fatal shooting in Chicago.” While it was later determined that it was actually a six-day murder-free stretch, either way it is definitely not cause for celebration in a city that has recorded more shooting victims so far this year than at this time last year—and last year resulted in more violence than Chicago has seen in two decades.
If the numbers don’t tell the story—102 homicides to date in 2017—perhaps this tragic stat will: From Feb. 28, 2015 to Feb. 26, 2017, a period of two years, there had been a shooting every single day.
But make no mistake, these shootings aren’t random violence due to lax gun laws. They are gang-related shootings pinpointed to a handful of neighborhoods. And their guns aren’t being acquired legally. Breitbart recently reported that gang members have even targeted railways three times in the past three years—one robbery bringing in more than 100 guns.
Until real solutions are proposed for Chicago, a handful of violence-free days will unfortunately remain an anomaly.
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