At least 233 people were killed and 618 people were injured by gun violence in more than 500 shootings across the country during the Fourth of July weekend, a 26% drop from last year’s holiday weekend, according to the latest data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive.
According to data released Tuesday morning, which looks at shootings from 5 p.m. Friday through Monday, there were 314 fatal shootings with 751 injuries during the same period last year, the GVA said.
The significant drop in shootings and shooting victims comes as major cities nationwide confront a surge in violent crime.
Last year’s holiday weekend came as the nation was starting to reopen after the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders and amid mass protests related to the killing of George Floyd. CNN has requested 2019 data.
In New York, where gun violence has been rising to levels not seen in years, there were 35 victims – two fatal – from 29 shootings that occurred Friday to Monday, a decrease from the same period last year when 78 people were shot in 55 shootings, the New York Police Department said.
So far this year, gun violence incidents in New York have spiked almost 32% over the same period in 2020, with 773 shootings and 895 victims.
In June, however, shootings, shooting victims and murders fell in New York City compared to June of last year – this as gun arrests are up nearly 100% percent during the same time frame, city officials said Tuesday.
For the month of June, shootings are down by nearly 20%, from 205 to 165, shooting victims are down 26% and murders are down just over 23%, from 43 to 33 year over year, Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference on Tuesday.
100 people shot, 18 killed in Chicago
In Chicago, after Police Superintendent David Brown raised concerns before the “most challenging weekend of the year” for police, 100 people were shot and 18 people were killed from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Monday, according to the Chicago Police Department. There were 69 shooting incidents during that period, police said.
There were the same amount of murders last year, but the number of shooting incidents and victims increased, according to data from Kellie Bartoli with the Chicago Police Department. There were 83 shooting victims and 18 murders in 47 shooting incidents from July 2-5, 2020, she told CNN in an email.
One of the 14 people killed was a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, CNN affiliate WLS reported. His family identified him on social media as Chrys Carvajal, though the Cook County medical examiner has not officially released his name.
Lt. Col. Brad Leighton confirmed to CNN that Carvajal was assigned to the Company L, Recruitment Sustainment Program, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, of the Illinois Army National Guard.
“(Carvajal) was new to the Illinois National Guard and was to be assigned to a transportation unit. He had recently completed Army basic training,” Leighton said. “Our hearts go out Pvt. 1st Class Carvajal’s family and friends.
Two Chicago police officers were injured in an overnight shooting as an individual opened fire while officers were dispersing a crowd of several thousand people and made more than 60 arrests, police said. Both are expected to survive.
Unlike other cities experiencing a spike in violent crime, the homicide rate in Chicago through June is 2% lower than the same period in 2020. The number of victims is still 14% higher.
A reason for the drop was a less violent June where Chicago saw a 20% drop in homicides compared to last year (98 instead of 78), a 13% drop in shootings (416 compared to 363) and an 8% decrease in shooting victims (540 compared to 499).
Violence across America
In suburban Atlanta, golf professional Gene Siller was fatally shot at a country club on Saturday, and police are still looking for the suspect, according to Cobb County police. Siller, 46, was found unresponsive with an “apparent gunshot wound to the head” and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Two other gunshot victims were also found on the course.
Police are still searching for the suspect, who has not been identified.
There were several mass shootings over the holiday weekend. CNN defines a mass shooting as an incident with four or more people killed or wounded by gunfire, excluding the shooter.
Eight people were injured early Sunday morning in a shooting near a car wash in Fort Worth, Texas, after an argument between a group of men, according to a Fort Worth police news release.
One of the men left during the argument, returned with a gun and began firing “toward groups of people,” and multiple people returned gunfire, the release said. Most of the victims, who are in stable condition, are believed to be innocent bystanders, police said.
In Norfolk, Virginia, four children were shot on Friday afternoon, including a 6-year-old girl who was initially reported to be suffering life-threatening injuries but is now in stable condition, according to Norfolk police. The victims also included a 14-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old boy, all of whom are expected to fully recover.
Norfolk police said detectives have arrested and charged a 15-year-old boy in connection with the shooting.
One person and eleven others were injured in a shooting at a block party attended by several hundred people in Toledo, Ohio on Sunday night, according to Toledo police. A 17-year-old is dead after he was flown by helicopter to the University of Michigan Hospital for treatment, according to Toledo Police Chief George Kral.
Two victims, a 51-year-old and a 19-year-old, are in critical condition, Kral said, and the other nine people wounded are in stable condition, their ages ranging from an 11-year-old to three 19-year-olds.
Police in Cincinnati, Ohio, said two males, ages 16 and 19, were killed and three others injured at a holiday celebration at a park late Sunday night. The two males were “engaged in a verbal altercation that resulted in the two exchanging gunfire” and the other victims were caught in the crossfire, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said at a news briefing on Monday.
Two girls, ages 16 and 17, and a 15-year-old boy were wounded in the shooting, Isaac said. The 17-year-old girl is in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her back while the other two victims suffered gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, Isaac said.
In Dallas, police responded to two separate shootings on July 4, one of which involved five men who were shot. Three of the victims were pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital, police said. A 61-year-old man was killed in another incident after being shot “multiple times in the street during a disturbance,” and died at a local hospital, according to Dallas police.
In Toledo, Ohio, one person died and 11 others were injured in a block party shooting on Sunday night attended by several hundred people, Toledo police said. The victims range in age from 11 to 19, and nine of them remain in stable condition, police said.
In Las Vegas, two men are dead and at least seven others were injured following a shooting on Sunday night, according to a news release from the North Las Vegas Police Department.
“Both of the deceased victims are males and believed to be in their early 20’s. Officers are aware of seven other people who had been injured,” NLVPD spokesperson Officer Alexander Cuevas told CNN in an email Monday. “Detectives and CSI were called to the scene and are pursuing all leads in the investigation.”
Correction: Previous versions of this article had the wrong age for Gene Siller. He was 46.
CNN’s Mirna Alsharif contributed to this report.