Brandon716
Senior Member
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/weekend.violence.gang.2.704381.html
(video included within report)
Police Respond To Rash of Weekend Shootings
Dana Kozlov CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago police brass are reacting to the violence-plagued weekend. They say most of the shootings are gang-related and they're ready to implement new measures to crack down on the crime, as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
Chicago police officers kept a close watch as mourners entered and left 17-year-old Marcus Greer's funeral. The teen was shot on a block from his home Tuesday night – the third man in his family to die on Chicago's streets.
"Every time we look up, we got to go through this in our families and other families too, I know that," said Greer's grandmother Valerie Mays. "But something needs to be done."
There have been 26 shootings this weekend, four of them fatal – that's seven more than this same weekend last year.
One factor, according to police, is the warm weather. Every spring and summer is always considered to be a catalyst for violence. But police officials say they are looking at other strategies to combat shootings.
The department will be targeting gang leaders, enhancing bike and foot patrols and saturating violent zones or areas of the city with more resources.
"We will be enhancing the detective division, the aggravated battery teams, adding more district officers in order to facilitate the exchange of information along with being redeployed to areas where violence has occurred," said Deputy Supt. James Jackson.
Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis said all but three of the 26 shootings were gang-related.
Seven victims were juveniles, five of whom were out after the city curfew of 11 p.m. So he's also asking parents to be more vigilant about where their children are after hours.
Weis also supports Mayor Daley in his call for tougher legislation that will make it more difficult to get and own guns.
"You just have too many guns and too many gangs, and too much drugs on the street," Weis said. "There's just too many weapons out here."
But not everyone agrees that will solve the problem, including Greer's grandmother.
"The streets is raising these kids; this is not going to stop," Mays said. "You say you need more gun laws, that's not going to work because guys running from police, they throw their guns and then a 12-year-old picks it up and he'll kill another Marcus tomorrow."
So how do police, parents, teachers best reach out to at-risk kids? There isn't one simple answer. In the meantime, many of Chicago's young adults assume they'll keep attending funerals of friends.
"I'm not sad, basically I'm used to it, "said Greer's friend Maria Soto. "We're used to it, we can't cry no more, we can't cry."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
(video included within report)
Police Respond To Rash of Weekend Shootings
Dana Kozlov CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago police brass are reacting to the violence-plagued weekend. They say most of the shootings are gang-related and they're ready to implement new measures to crack down on the crime, as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
Chicago police officers kept a close watch as mourners entered and left 17-year-old Marcus Greer's funeral. The teen was shot on a block from his home Tuesday night – the third man in his family to die on Chicago's streets.
"Every time we look up, we got to go through this in our families and other families too, I know that," said Greer's grandmother Valerie Mays. "But something needs to be done."
There have been 26 shootings this weekend, four of them fatal – that's seven more than this same weekend last year.
One factor, according to police, is the warm weather. Every spring and summer is always considered to be a catalyst for violence. But police officials say they are looking at other strategies to combat shootings.
The department will be targeting gang leaders, enhancing bike and foot patrols and saturating violent zones or areas of the city with more resources.
"We will be enhancing the detective division, the aggravated battery teams, adding more district officers in order to facilitate the exchange of information along with being redeployed to areas where violence has occurred," said Deputy Supt. James Jackson.
Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis said all but three of the 26 shootings were gang-related.
Seven victims were juveniles, five of whom were out after the city curfew of 11 p.m. So he's also asking parents to be more vigilant about where their children are after hours.
Weis also supports Mayor Daley in his call for tougher legislation that will make it more difficult to get and own guns.
"You just have too many guns and too many gangs, and too much drugs on the street," Weis said. "There's just too many weapons out here."
But not everyone agrees that will solve the problem, including Greer's grandmother.
"The streets is raising these kids; this is not going to stop," Mays said. "You say you need more gun laws, that's not going to work because guys running from police, they throw their guns and then a 12-year-old picks it up and he'll kill another Marcus tomorrow."
So how do police, parents, teachers best reach out to at-risk kids? There isn't one simple answer. In the meantime, many of Chicago's young adults assume they'll keep attending funerals of friends.
"I'm not sad, basically I'm used to it, "said Greer's friend Maria Soto. "We're used to it, we can't cry no more, we can't cry."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
