More than 140 people were killed in 379 shootings across America over the July Fourth weekend as Independence Day celebrations turned violent.
So far 142 gun-related deaths have been reported from between July 3 and July 5 across the US, with major cities like Chicago, Illinois and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being the worst-hit areas.
Chicago saw the greatest bloodshed as at least 92 shootings took place, killing 16 and injuring a further 76.
The nationwide loss of life to firearms came as millions of Americans celebrated July Fourth peacefully with firework displays and large gathering of friends and family.
National Guard soldier Chrys Carvajal, 19, is the only victim from Chicago to have been named so far. He was shot while attending a house party in the city according to his sister, Jennifer Ramirez.
Speaking to ABC 7 she said: ‘My brother. He was all of life. He had a bright future in front of him.’
Others who were shot but survived shootings in the windy city include children as young as five and six, while other victims were aged between 12 and 30-years-old, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
Two cops were also among the injured after they were shot in the early hours of Monday while trying to disperse a crowd in Chicago’s Washington Park. They were rushed to hospital, and are expected to survive their injuries.
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, 21 people suffered gun-related injuries while seven people were sadly killed.
In one incident 11 people were shot, four of whom died, during a six hour period in Philadelphia on July 4.
Six of those 11 who were shot were teenagers aged between 15 and 19.
Elsewhere in the city, shortly after 10:30pm on Sunday, more than 100 bullets ripped through a barbeque gathering, fatally hitting 22-year-old Sincarr Johnson Jr and a 23-year-old man. A 16-year-old girl was also shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
On Saturday three people other people were fatally shot, including a six-year-old boy, in the north of the city.
The same shooters are also thought to have killed an unnamed 18-year-old, who was shot 13 times in the West Oak Lane section of the city, as well as a 21-year-old, who was shot in the abdomen and thigh in West Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney released a statement condemning the weekend violence, saying, ‘This weekend’s horrific violence is a stark reminder that Covid isn’t the only crisis plaguing our city’.
‘Gun violence continues to traumatize our communities and cut Philadelphians lives tragically short’, Kenney said.
He added: ‘My heart breaks for their loved ones and I extend my deepest sympathies as they process this unimaginable loss.’
Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano called the city a ‘war zone’ over the weekend and attacked the city’s leaders, including mayor Lori Lightfoot, for the surge in crime.
Gun violence also plagued other major cities this weekend, including Cincinnati, New York, Dallas and Denver.
During a fireworks display in Cincinnati five people were shot, two of whom sadly died. They were identified as 16-year-old Milo Watson and 19-year-old Dexter Wright Jr.
In New York City at least 26 people were shot on Saturday and Sunday. Two men who were shot in the Bronx in separate incidents on Sunday died of their injuries.
Meanwhile a 19-year-old woman is fighting for her life after being shot in the chest by a man dressed in black as she and her boyfriend walked through Harlem on Sunday night.
In the Forth Worth area of Dallas 29 people were shot on July 4, with five of those gunshot victims later succumbing to their injuries.
Three of those victims died while celebrating at the city’s Hamilton Park on Sunday night. Another victim, Joseph Berry, 61, was shot while walking down Dallas’ gould Street on Sunday evening.
Denver also saw five people shot and injured in less than three hours in the early hours of Sunday.
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