Chicago's weekend violence, which included a police shooting and a mob scene, left two dead and 16 more injured.
Shortly before noon on Saturday morning, a policeman shot a man near Ashland and Garfield following a high-speed car chase and physical struggle, according to DNAinfo Chicago.
Jamaal Moore, 23, was among five suspects that attempted to flee the wrecked SUV and got into a struggle with an officer, who alerted his colleague that he thought Moore might be armed. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the second officer fired, striking Moore who was holding a flashlight and not a gun. Moore died shortly after.
A crowd formed shortly after the incident, according to the Sun-Times, hurling bottles and bricks at the officers. At least five men between the ages of 19 and 31 were charged with mob action following the scene.
The second death of the weekend came Sunday in the city's Tri-Taylor neighborhood around 2:45 a.m. The Tribune says Gavin Williams, 28, of Zion, was fatally shot in the chest while he stood on the front porch of a home near Western and Flournoy.
Other shooting-related injuries from the weekend came between Friday night and Sunday morning, according to the Sun-Times and included two boys, 14 and 16, in the South Shore neighborhood. No arrests have been made for any of the shootings, though police are investigating the incident involving Moore.
Despite the violent weekend, CBS Chicago reports McCarthy claimed Monday that crime overall is down more than 8 percent from last year, with reductions in burglary, vehicle theft and sexual assaults. The numbers mark the biggest reduction in overall crime in the city in two decades, Chicago's top cop told the station.
Nevertheless, following the recent Connecticut shooting massacre and the renewed debate over matters concerning gun control, gun violence in Chicago is back in the national media spotlight once again. Among those who have specifically referenced Chicago violence in their reactions to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre are the Rev. Jesse Jackson, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and President Barack Obama.
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