The number of people who have been shot in Chicago so far this year is 50 percent higher than this time last year, according to the Chicago Tribune. These numbers present a cause for alarm as the city prepares for summer, which has historically been its most violent period.
Since Jan. 1, at least 1,382 people have been shot in Chicago and at least 244 of these gunshot victims died. At this time of year in 2015, 904 people had been shot and 157 of them died from their wounds, according to the report.
As of May 24, more people have been shot and killed in May this year than in all of May 2015. The toll from the past weekend was 40 wounded and five killed in shootings. Over Mother's Day weekend, 42 people were wounded and eight were killed in Chicago's most violent weekend since the end of September, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.
"As we look toward the summer months ... violence will not be tolerated," Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement over the weekend. Mr. Johnson didn't include details on how the police department plans to combat gunshot violence in the city, but the department issued a request May 20 asking for volunteers to work overtime during the Memorial Day weekend.
Over Memorial Day weekend last year, 12 people were killed and 44 were wounded, according to the report.