Nine people were killed and at least 43 others injured during a bloody spate of shootings in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend — starting the day after the mayor unveiled a new safety plan for the city.
Ahead of the deadly holiday crime, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday unveiled his plan to push for violence prevention and provide millions of dollars to youth outreach organizations, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
The rash of holiday-weekend shootings started the next day — and included two 2-year-olds who accidentally shot themselves when they separately got a hold of guns Saturday, according to local WGN-TV.
One of the tots shot themselves in the forearm and the other in the hand.
Both are expected to survive.
A 14-year-old girl, 15-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy also were among the weekend’s non-fatal gunshot victims.
Three other people were shot while standing on the sidewalk early Monday, police told the television station.
Five people alone were shot over the past four days in the city’s northside neighborhood of Lakeview, including 35-year-old William Hair, whose best friend futilely tried to save his life when he took a bullet.
“He was there with his best friend,” the victim’s father, Bill, said. “They … didn’t have a chance to do anything. His best friend, thank God, was with him and valiantly tried to save his life, and performed CPR, helped him breathe. My son fought for his life, but he was gone.”
On the west side of Chicago, a 35-year-old man was killed and a 30-year-old woman injured when someone fired shots at them as they sat in a parked car around 2:09 a.m. Sunday in West Garfield Park.
The man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at an area hospital, while the woman was hit in her side and in critical condition. Police said no arrests have been made and that their investigation is ongoing.
About an hour earlier, three men were shot in Lakeview, leaving one in serious condition. The two other men were hospitalized in good condition, according to NBC Chicago.
Shortly before that, about 12:30 a.m., a 20-year-old man was fatally shot in Washington Heights.
Police said two men approached the victim and that at least one of them fired shots, striking him in the head and legs, ABC 7 Chicago reported. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 26-year-old man was shot while leaving a gas station in Woodlawn about 10:55 p.m. Saturday by someone in a white SUV, police said.
He was taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the back and was later pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made.
Earlier Saturday, around noon, a woman was killed and three men injured in a drive-by shooting.
The group was walking on the 7900 block of South Ashland Avenue when a vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire.
The woman, 69, ended up being found in a nearby vehicle with a gunshot wound.
She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
One of the men, 55, was shot in the back and another guy, 34, was hit in the arm.
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They were taken to the hospital and are in good condition.
The third man, 26, was hit in the shoulder and taken to the hospital. He is in good condition.
Police said no arrests have been made.
About 11:15 a.m. Saturday, a man also was shot to death in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest side.
The man was believed to have been between 25 and 30 and suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the hospital.
Earlier that morning, 22-year-old Johnathan Salgado was standing on the sidewalk on South Homan Avenue when he was shot in the chest.
He was taken to the hospital where he later died, police said.
No one is in custody yet, cops said.
Twenty minutes earlier, two people were shot, one fatally, in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood, police said.
The victims, a 36-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man, were shot while standing on the sidewalk just before 3 a.m. and taken to a nearby hospital, where the man was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made.
Around 12:50 a.m. a 33-year-old man was found shot to death in Auburn Gresham.
He suffered a gunshot wound to the armpit and was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made.
One non-fatal incident also involved a Michigan cop who accidentally discharged his gun, injuring both himself and another man Saturday.
Last weekend, 23 people were shot in Chicago, one fatally, police said.