CHICAGO — Though Labor Day weekend has been bloody so far, August saw a dip in both shootings and murders compared to last year, cops said Sunday.
According to police, there were 50 murders in August, six fewer than in August of 2012. There was also a dip in shooting incidents, police said, with 235 incidents this August compared to 282 last year.
The numbers show an overall decline in crime compared to 2012, police said. From January 1 through August 31, there has been a 22 percent decrease in shootings, a 23 percent decrease in murders and a 15 percent decrease in overall crime, according to police News Affairs.
“While there have been significantly fewer shootings and murders this year, one victim is one too many and there's clearly more work to be done," police Supt. Garry McCarthy said in a statement.
Illegal gun recovery, which McCarthy has continually said is essential to making the streets safer, has also continued. Police said they took more than 680 illegal guns off the street in August alone. So far this year, they've taken 4,800 illegal guns, and McCarthy maintains that gun laws must be changed if the city wants even fewer shootings.
"We will continue our close partnership with the community and continue implementing our comprehensive policing strategy, but to address gun violence we need stronger laws that keep illegal guns out of our streets in the first place," McCarthy continued.
