Chicago convulsed by another violent weekend; top cop blames justice system

A visibly angry Chicago Police Department Superintendent said Sunday that he is "outraged and saddened" by a violent holiday weekend there.

Even in a city frequently beset by headline-grabbing violence, seven slayings between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon drew terrible attention.

In a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Superintendent Garry McCarthy pointed out one child is dead -- the victim of a bullet meant for his father, who is a ranking gang member -- despite a 30% increase in the number of police on the streets this weekend.

Since Friday morning, his police officers have recovered one illegal gun per hour across the city, according to McCarthy.

And he said he expects that statistic to increase as the numbers are tallied and finalized. He said the police are doing everything in their power to combat the violence.

 

'We need to repair a broken system'

 

 

"We need to repair a broken system. Criminals don't feel the repercussions of the justice system," McCarthy said.

A Chicago Police spokesperson said Sunday that along with the seven slayings, there were 33 shootings and 40 nonfatal victims in the wave of incidents.

McCarthy focused on the death of 7-year-old Amari Brown, who McCarthy said was the unintended victim of bullet meant for his father.

McCarthy said the system failed Amari. His father, who has been arrested 45 times and has a lengthy criminal record, should not have been on the streets, he said.

"If Mr. Brown is in custody, his son is alive," McCarthy added.

'I'm angry and I'm frustrated'

"I'm angry and I'm frustrated that we're here talking about another senseless murder," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he is incredibly proud of the men and women of his department and the work they do, but added that "we must stem the flow of guns into the city."

This year's statistics may sound staggering, but compared with last year, the number of violent incidents is actually down. For the same period in 2014, there were 64 shootings, 69 nonfatal victims in those incidents and 15 slayings.

 

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com