CHICAGO, IL – A seven-year-old boy tragically lost his life in a shooting at the 2200 block of West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago. The young boy, who had only ventured out to visit a next-door neighbor, was found with a gunshot wound to the chest. After being discovered by police officers, the little boy was quickly transported to the hospital in a police squad car.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling expressed his deep distress at the incident, urging the city to combat the rampant gun violence responsible for the theft of innocent lives.
Snelling revealed that the gunfire that claimed the life of the seven-year-old boy seemed random in nature. Up until Tuesday, 17 minors have succumbed to gun violence in the city this year alone.
Despite a reduction in the city’s murder rate, with 227 reported murders this year compared to 268 in the same timeframe last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson correlated the continuing gun violence with systemic underinvestment in neighborhoods, attributing blame to policies promoting poverty and violence.
Mayor Johnson recently took an active step against systemic racism by announcing the establishment of a reparations task force. This act was intended to boost investment in neighborhoods that have been immensely impacted by racial disparity.