(Courtesy CCTV) — Police officials in the U.S. city of Chicago on Tuesday called for stricter gun control laws after a violent Labor Day holiday weekend saw eight people killed and 46 others wounded in multiple shootings.
The shootings occurred just days after the most serious single-day gun-violence in decades which saw nine people killed on Sept. 2.
The police have seized 4,824 illegal firearms in Chicago in the first eight months of 2015, a number exceeding bigger cities with larger populations.
“We see it’s about 3:1 in comparison to Los Angeles, and 7:1 in comparison to New York when you make adjustments for population. It’s the proliferation of fire arms that exist on the street putting ourselves in harm’s way. This is endangering the community and our police officers every single day. It’s got to stop,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
The city saw 1,588 violence shootings until the end of August, a 20 percent year-on-year increase. An illegal gun owner was arrested 72 times in an extreme case.
“There’s something wrong with the system. It’s not producing what it’s designed to produce, which is a reduction in gun violence. So if the system doesn’t back that up, we’re not going to have the success that we need.” said McCarthy.