Chicago's grim crime-ridden year continued its familiar path over the Christmas weekend and into Monday, with three people fatally shot and 22 injured in a city run by woke Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Murders are at a 25-year high, with 793 recorded so far in a city with 2.7 million people. By comparison, New York City, which has a population of more than eight million, has had 479 murders to date.
On Christmas Day, 24-year-old Giovanni Lozano was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in Logan Square on the Northwest Side at 10:40pm.
On December 26, Clifford Jeffrey, 37, was shot and killed at 3:20pm in East Garfield Park. And Monday, a 30-year-old man was fatally shot as he walked on the sidewalk in Little Village on the Southwest Side. His name has not yet been released.
Lightfoot has not commented on the Windy City's carnage, instead posting a video wishing residents a happy Kwanzaa - the African American and Pan-African holiday created in 1966, and celebrated from December 26 until January 2.
Lori Lightfoot on December 26 posted a video to her Twitter account sitting beside her wife Amy Eshleman, in which she wished the city a happy Kwanzaa
Chicago police are seen investigating the area where Giovanni Lozano, 24, was shot and killed on Christmas Day
Police attend the scene of Clifford Jeffrey's murder in East Garfield Park on December 26
'Joyous Kwanzaa, Chicago,' said Lightfoot, sitting beside her wife Amy Eshleman.
'Amy and I wish to extend a very beautiful and prosperous Kwanzaa to all of you celebrating this season.'
Eshleman added: 'As you light the candles and gather in unity, we hope your holiday is filled with rejoicing and happiness.'
Lightfoot continued: 'The seven principals of Kwanzaa guide us to unity and cooperation as we work to uplift and protect our neighbors.
'As you prepare for your Kwanzaa celebrations, I urge you to keep these values in mind, but also maintain COVID-19 safe celebrations.'
The pair then urged those who were not vaccinated to get their COVID shot, and those sick to stay at home.
'Habari Gani, Chicago,' concluded Lightfoot, using a Kwanzaa greeting - a Swahili term meaning 'What is the news?'
One person replied to the video: 'How many people were shot this weekend?'
One asked: 'Is this a Saturday Night Live skit?'
Another remarked: 'There's been 7 carjackings since you tweeted this.'
Lightfoot concluded her address with a Swahili greeting which is now used to mark Kwanzaa
Crime in Chicago is at a 25-year high, as the statistics from December 21 show. It has only worsened through the Christmas week
Lightfoot's holiday wishes came as the city reels from a surge in violence.
The most recent Chicago police department data, from the week of December 13-19, shows murders 50 percent up year-on-year.
Criminal sexual assault was up 132 percent; robbery 74 percent; theft 51 percent.
And Christmas provided no respite.
On Christmas Eve, an 11-year-old boy was one of two people shot inside an apartment in
In nonfatal attacks, a person was in custody after an 11-year-old boy was among two people shot Friday night inside an apartment in Jefferson Park.
Both the boy and a 25-year-old man he was with were shot in the leg by a man they knew.
On Christmas Day, two women were shot early in the morning in the West Woodlawn neighborhood.
Around 2:38am, the 39-year-old and 21-year-old were standing on the sidewalk when shots were fired, according to police.
The 39-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the left leg and the 21-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the face. Both were expected to survive.
In the early hours of December 26, a 17-year-old boy was shot in West Lawn, on the Southwest Side.
The shooting happened around 12:40am, and the teenager was shot in the knee.
A man stands and watches as police on Christmas Day seal off the site of Giovanni Lozano's murder
Police on December 26 investigate the murder of Clifford Jeffrey, 37
About half an hour earlier, three people were shot inside a building in Marquette Park on the South Side, with a gunman opening fire from inside a gray Dodge Durango.
The Chicago Tribune on Monday reported that, for 2021, Austin, on the city's West Side, was the most dangerous neighborhood of the city, with 71 murders.
North Lawndale and Greater Grand Crossing were in second and third place, with slightly over half the tally of Austin - 44 and 40 murders respectively.
The victims were overwhelmingly young, black and male, and likely to have died in gunfire.
Of the 793 victims, 314 were aged 20-29, and 202 were aged 30-39.
Six hundred and 47 were black.
Men accounted for 696, and women for 97.
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