Ten people were killed over holiday weekend despite increased police presence. Garry McCarthy says flow of guns into the city must be stopped

Ten people, including a seven-year-old boy, were killed in shootings in Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Police superintendent Garry McCarthy acknowledged that his department’s decision to increase the police presence in the city by 30% in anticipation of holiday violence had not prevented the killings – and called for more restrictive gun laws. Last year 14 people were killed in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend.

“If you think that putting more cops on the street would make a difference, then take a look at the fact that we put a third more manpower on the street for this weekend,” McCarthy said.

“What’s the result? We’re getting more guns. Well, that’s great,” he said. “It’s not stopping the violence. And it’s not going to stop the violence until criminals are held accountable and something is done to stem the flow of these guns into our city.”

The youngest person killed this weekend was Amari Brown, seven, who was shot on Saturday night while watching fireworks with his father. McCarthy said that the gunfire was aimed at Brown’s father – who was described as a “ranking gang member” by police. A 26-year-old woman was also struck in the shooting.

Brown’s family told NBC Chicago that the best way to describe the child was as “a sweet, sweet little boy”.

Dan Lopez (@4danlopez) 7 yr old boy was killed by a bullet meant for his father. Dad is a known gang member & not cooperating with police pic.twitter.com/mFStsGhp8U

Police said two young men shot on Friday from a car driving by Hadiya Pendleton park were also likely not the intended targets. The park is named after the 15-year-old who performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration with her high school band and was shot just more than a week later.

Vonzell Banks, 17, was killed in the shooting and a 19-year-old was wounded. Banks’s aunt, LaShanda Childs, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was a “church boy” who liked playing music.

“He was a loving child, getting ready to be a senior at high school,” Childs said. “He was going to start a summer job on Monday. He was very excited about it.”

Police are investigating whether a fatal shooting on Thursday night, just after the weekend count began, was gang-related. Joseph Gutierrez, 20, was shot repeatedly while riding his bicycle.



Two fatal shootings occurred shortly after. Jose Hernandez, 26, was shot just after midnight on Friday. He was sitting on a porch when someone walked up and shot him in the back.

And shots fired from a passing car killed 47-year-old Grover Tate and wounded a 43-year-old woman on Friday morning at 1.20am.

Multiple fatal shootings also occurred early on Sunday morning.

Dominic Fairley, 26, was sitting in his car around 1am on Sunday when someone approached and shot him. Police are investigating whether the incident was gang-related.

Three people were shot, one fatally, when a gunman approached the van they were sitting in at around 2.30am on Sunday. Jeremy Spivey, 23, died in the shooting, which took place in an alley where people had been shooting fireworks off earlier in the evening. A 26-year-old woman and 17-year-old male were also shot in the incident.

And two men died later on Sunday morning after someone shot at the car they were in at about 6am. The driver, John Hunter, 25, tried to drive the SUV away, but it crashed. He and his brother Willie Hunter, 31, were in the car, but it is not clear whether Willie died from the crash or the gunshot wounds.

Just before 6pm on Sunday, 48-year-old Anthony Strong was shot on the same block he lived on. A “person of interest” is in custody, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which tracks homicides in the city. The newspaper said that at least 53 people were injured over the weekend.