
Getty Images/Joshua Lott
Six people were murdered across Chicago during the first 12 hours of the Halloween weekend while 19 total were shot.
According to WMAQ-TV, the first shooting of the weekend happened around 4:45 p.m. CST Friday. By 4:45 a.m. — just 12 hours later — 19 people had been injured as a result of being shot.
Chicago, which is one of the most violent cities in the U.S., typically sees high rates of violence on holiday weekends. But seeing 19 people shot in the first 12 hours of a holiday weekend might be "above average" for even Chicago. Last year, the Windy City saw only 26 people shot — with two deaths — during the entire Halloween weekend, according to Breitbart News.
Still, Chicago is on pace to see one of its deadliest years in recent memory. According to crime data compiled by the Chicago Tribune, there have been nearly 3600 shooting victims this year in Chicago as of Oct. 29. For the entire year in 2015, however, the city only saw 2988 shooting victims.
Just two months ago, the city saw its most violent month in more than 20 years. During the month of August, more than 400 people were victims of shootings while 78 people lost their lives to the violence.
To note, Chicago has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation. That, however, hasn't proved to be able to curb the increasing violence.