On same day Obama visits Chicago, city marks another depressing gun violence milestone

On the same day that former President Barack Obama visited Chicago to give his first public remarks since leaving office, the nation's third-largest city passed yet another depressing milestone because of gun violence.

Obama visited his adopted hometown earlier this week where he hosted a panel discussion with high school and college students on civic engagement. Obama's appearance at the University of Chicago was the first public remarks since leaving office on Jan. 20.

But as the former president talked civic engagement with students, others were dying in the streets — quite literally.

More people in Chicago died as a result of gun violence last year than during any year in nearly two decades. More than 4,300 people were shot between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016. There were more than 750 homicides during the same period. So far, 2017 isn't looking much better.

On Monday, Chicago saw its 1,000th gun violence victim of 2017 — four days later than the same milestone last year.

As of Tuesday morning, there had been 1,008 gun violence victims so far in 2017 — 182 of them were homicides, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Last weekend, seven people died after being gunned down and another 31 people were injured. Ten of those weekend shootings happened over the course of just seven hours Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, three people suffered fatal gunshot wounds while 13 others were injured.

The gunshot victims range in ages and gender. A 15-year-old boy was shot Monday in the right arm and buttock but was later listed in fair condition. Another shooting just this week included a a 55-year-old male who was shot in both the face and chest. The unidentified man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

With Chicago's gun laws already being some of the strictest in the country, city leaders are dumbfounded as to what to do to resolve the problem.

President Donald Trump, who has often spoke of inner-city violence, has even threatened to "send in the feds" if the city's leaders couldn't get the issue under control.