Chicago faces national scrutiny over violence

CHICAGO — After at least 11 people were shot to death and about 70 wounded in a weekend burst of violence in Chicago, the city’s police Monday attributed the dozens of shootings to gangs, the illegal flow of guns and sweltering August heat that drew more people outside.

Chicago’s Democratic mayor also said one lesson from the violence is that people who live in neighborhoods where the shootings occurred have to be willing to name potential suspects.

Chicago’s gun violence has drawn national scrutiny, and the weekend burst of violence instantly became a political issue when President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, blamed the carnage on longtime Democratic rule in the city.

The victims in Chicago ranged in age from 11 to 63, according to police. One teenage girl died after being shot in the face. A teenage boy was fatally shot riding a bike Sunday afternoon. Other shootings took place at a block party and a funeral.

Even for Chicagoans all too accustomed to violence in parts of the city, the weekend stood out. By way of comparison, at least seven people were killed and 32 wounded during the long Memorial Day weekend — often one of the most violent weekends of the year — the Chicago Tribune reported.

“Oursouls are burdened,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “It is unacceptable to happen in any neighborhood of Chicago. We are a better city.”

Echoing comments that Mr. Trump himself has made repeatedly about Chicago, Mr. Giuliani blamed Mr. Emanuel — former President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff — and decades of “one party Democratic rule” in a series of tweets on Sunday and Monday. He said Mr. Emanuel “is fiddling while Chicago burns.” Mr. Giuliani also falsely claimed that Chicago had “63 murders this weekend.”

The mayor had no immediate comment on Mr. Giuliani’s attacks.

Most of the shootings happened in just a few poor neighborhoods on the West and South Sides where gangs are entrenched, said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, standing next to the mayor.

Mr. Johnson noted that homicides in the city are down by around 20 percent from last year. But he said gang members and others arrested on gun charges aren’t dealt with harshly enough.

“It is the same people who are pulling the triggers,” he said.

Mr. Emanuel echoed that, and said residents must be willing to “speak up” and help identify suspects.