At least 40 people shot over Memorial Day weekend in Chicago

A string of shootings brought the total number of people shot during the Memorial Day weekend to at least 40, the Chicago Police Department said on Sunday.

Between Saturday afternoon and early Sunday alone, one man was killed and 24 others wounded across Chicago.

A 27-year-old man was shot in the head and pronounced dead on the scene on the south side of Chicago Saturday afternoon. A gun was recovered on the scene, but it is not clear whether it belonged to the victim or the person who shot him, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a spokeswoman for the Chicago police.

The Memorial Day usually marks the start of summer in Chicago, when the city re-opens its Lake Michigan beaches, resumes regular fireworks displays at Navy Pier, and kicks off various recreational events and sport activities.

But the Memorial Day weekend, which lasts from Friday to Tuesday this year, also witnesses an increasing violence. Over the holiday weekend last year, 12 people were killed and at least 44 wounded in Chicago.

In anticipation of heighten violence at the Memorial Day weekend, the Chicago Police has authorized ahead of the holiday overtime for thousands of officers to work between Friday and Monday.

Thousands of uniformed officers have been out in force, particularly in violence-plagued neighborhoods on the South and West sides, as well as city parks and the lakefront, Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.

Being the third largest city in the United States, Chicago is notorious for its violence occurrence worldwide. Statistics provided by the Chicago Police Department show that as of Friday morning, homicides in Chicago went up 52 percent in 2016, compared with the same period of 2015; and shootings had increased by 50 percent. Five months of 2016 have witnessed at least 233 people killed in Chicago.

As a result of frequent crime, high taxes, the state budget stalemate, and the unemployment rate, the population in the Chicago metropolitan area has begun to decline for the first time since 1990.

Census data show the Chicago area lost an estimated 6,263 residents in 2015, the greatest loss of any metropolitan area in the country. The population in the Chicago area is at 9.5 million at present.

Chicago's metropolitan statistical area, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the city of Chicago and suburbs and extends into Wisconsin and Indiana.

Source: XINHUA