Highland Park tragedy highlights gun violence over Fourth of July weekend

Jul 05, 2022

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)

The mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to gun violence over the holiday weekend. In nearby Chicago, 57 people were shot over the weekend. Nine of those 57 died, according to NBC News Chicago, citing Chicago Police.

“Last year, 19 people were killed and more than 100 people were shot over the long Fourth of July weekend,” NBC News Chicago wrote Monday. “Seeking to prevent a similar surge in violence this year, Chicago police Supt. David Brown had said ahead of the long weekend that people should expect to see a heavier police presence in their neighborhoods.”

It’s not just Chicago and the surrounding area that had to deal with gun violence over the Fourth of July weekend. In Philadelphia, two police officers working at a Fourth of July fireworks show suffered graze wounds when shots were fired at the event.

Investigators have not yet determined where the shots were fired from or how many were fired. It’s also unclear whether someone intentionally fired at the officers. No arrests were immediately made.

“It was a laid-back chill day. The weather was beautiful. The concert was beautiful. But we live in America and we have the Second Amendment and we have the Supreme Court of the United States telling everybody, you can carry a gun whenever they want,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Monday night in response to the shooting. “We have to come to grips with what this country is about right now. We had a beautiful day out there today, except for some nitwit either shooting from window or shooting from somewhere who has a gun and probably shouldn’t have had it.”

In Kansas City, police said Monday that two people were killed and four others were injured in two different overnight shootings. The shooting that left the four injured happened near the city’s popular Power & Light District after a concert. The other shooting happened hours later elsewhere in the city.

In Richmond, Virginia, a man was sent to the hospital after an incident on Interstate 95. State police said they were notified just after 2:40 a.m. Monday about a single-vehicle crash. Police said it appears the vehicle had been traveling south when it was shot at more than 10 times. The car ran off the road and struck the guardrail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jimmie Johnson: As the nation reels from yesterday’s mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois… it was far from the only incident of gun violence we saw over the holiday weekend.
In nearby Chicago — 57 people were shot over the weekend.
9 of them died.
Both of these counts are actually *down* from last Fourth of July weekend.
More than 100 people were shot and 19 were killed in the city last year.
In Philadelphia — two police officers were wounded in a shooting at a celebration last night.
No one else was injured.
No arrests were immediately made — and it’s unclear if the shooter was targeting those officers.
Mayor Jim Kenney | Philadelphia: “I mean, so like we have to come to grips with what this country is about right now. We had a beautiful day out there today, except for some nitwit either shooting from window or shooting from somewhere who has a gun and probably shouldn’t have had it. There’s not an event or a day where I don’t lay on my back and look at the ceiling and wonder and worry about stuff.”
Shannon Longworth: In Kansas City — two people were killed and four others were injured in two separate shootings. One of them was in the city’s popular Power and Light District.
And in Richmond, Virginia, a man was hospitalized after his car was shot at *more than 10 times* while driving on I-95 — causing the car to crash.