More than 60 people were shot in Chicago over the Christmas weekend, leaving 11 dead, the Chicago Tribune reports. Most of the violence took place on the city’s South and West sides.
The holiday weekend started with five teenagers being shot within feet of one another in the city's South Austin neighborhood. The Tribune reports that at around 3:30 p.m. Friday, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the 4900 block of West Kinzie Street. A little over an hour later, four other teenagers were shot in the 4900 block of West Hubbard Street, just about a block away. Their conditions have been stabilized.
According to the Tribune, there were eight multiple-victim shootings over the weekend, including two double homicides. One attack in East Chatham left two dead and five wounded, while another shooting in Austin left two dead.
And just since Monday morning, 17 people have been injured, including a 14-year-old girl who is currently in critical condition, the news site reports. The 14-year-old was with another 13-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy in a van outside Leland Giants Park in the Gresham neighborhood just after 11:30 p.m. Monday. The 13-year-old's father had reportedly left the van to speak to someone in a nearby house when two people came up and shot inside the vehicle.
The 14-year-old was shot in the back, while the 13-year-old was grazed in the arm and is said to be in good condition. The 2-year-old was unharmed, according to the police.
Of the others injured, more than a dozen were listed in serious or critical condition.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said most of the weekend's victims were targeted by gang members.
"These were deliberate and planned shootings by one gang against another," he added. "They were targeted knowing fully well that individuals would be at the homes of family and friends celebrating the holidays. This was followed by several acts of retaliation."
Spokesman for the Chicago Police Department Anthony Guglielmi said that 90 percent of those killed “had gang affiliations, criminal histories and were preidentified by the department's strategic subject algorithm as being a potential suspect or victim of gun violence."
Read more at the Chicago Tribune.