News of massive shootings in Chicago were overshadowed on Friday as the U.S. turned its attention to New York City, where two were killed and eight were wounded in an Empire State Building shooting. The AFP reported that Chicago has seen an eight percent rise in shootings since the last police report was issued.
Chicago police said 19 people were shot in the South and West sides between Thursday evening and early Friday morning, the Chicago Tribune reported. Thirteen of the victims were shot in a 30-minute period between 9:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
Thursday evening, three 19-year-olds and a 22-year-old were shot in the Little Village neighborhood.
Eight people, most of them teenagers, were shot at 79th Street and Essex Avenue around 9:30 p.m. according to the Tribune. Around the same time, two men, ages 27 and 33, were shot in the Ida B. Wells/ Darrow Homes complex and two more in the Brighton Park neighborhood. Shortly afterwards, a 24-year-old man was hit in the leg when he was at South Jeffery Boulevard.
According to the Tribune, two 17-year-olds were shot in separate shootings just after midnight. One was hit in the back by a drive-by shooter, while the second was shot by someone who approached him in the street.
The shootings follow two deadly mass shootings that rocked the U.S over the past couple of months.
On August 5, six worshipers at Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and four were shot by Army veteran, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page. Page was shot by police in the stomach before ending his own life, Reuters reported.
On July 20, during the "Dark Knight Rises" premiere, James Holmes, 24, opened fire in an Aurora, Colorado theater killing 12 and wounding 58 others. According to Reuters, Holmes, who was arrested at the theater, is charged with 24 counts of first degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.
No fatalities were reported in any cases in the Chicago shootings.