Despite Stay-At-Home Order, Memorial Day Weekend 2020 Is Deadliest In Chicago In Years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Memorial Day weekend still had several hours to go late Monday afternoon, but it was already the deadliest in Chicago in years.
As of 10 p.m., 10 people had been shot and killed in the city.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported, one large gathering in Englewood Sunday night ended with shots fired. Chicago Police said two of their officers were injured in the incident.
It has been an uphill battle for dozens of peace keepers assigned to canvass the area during the holiday weekend. Autry Philips and his team of 84 violence prevention workers in Englewood have been working nonstop.
"We get those individuals trained in conflict resolution in their own area," said Phillips, executive director of the Target Area Development Corp.
They were canvassing 16 hot spots Monday in the hopes of curbing the gun violence, which has not been fazed by the stay-at-home order that is intended to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday night, there was a 10-1 police call for emergency backup in the 7000 block of South Lowe Avenue.
Shots were fired, two men were taken into custody, and police said they recovered two guns.
More than 40 people were shot this weekend in incidents across the city, and 10 died.
That is the highest number of lives lost during Memorial Day Weekend since 2015, when 12 people were shot and killed.
Last year, 42 people were shot during this holiday weekend. Phillips said he will consider anything less than that a win, and his group will keep working well into the morning to do their part.
"My hope doesn't change because it's the holiday," Phillips said. "My hope for the community of Englewood, my hope for the community of Chicago, is that we stop killing each other."
Several people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, but Chicago Police said they have no record of citations or arrests related to the stay-at-home order on Saturday or Sunday.
