A mass shooting in the city of Chicago, Illinois left a 1-month old child with a gunshot wound to the head, her car seat riddled with bullet holes, and six other people injured on Thursday as mayor Lori Lightfoot falsely claimed during a press conference that, “Crime is not out of control in our city, in fact, crime is on the decline.”
Video footage of the shooting shows three black males jumping out of a Jeep Cherokee SUV and opening fire on pedestrians in broad daylight, seemingly at random. The gunfire goes on for at least twenty seconds before the gunmen drive away. The footage was posted to Twitter with the caption, “Video of the mass shooting tonight at 66th/Halsted. Seven shot, including a one-month-old girl, by gunmen who emerged from a black Jeep Cherokee with rifles. #Chicago”
Video of the mass shooting tonight at 66th/Halsted. Seven shot, including a one-month-old girl, by gunmen who emerged from a black Jeep Cherokee with rifles. #Chicago pic.twitter.com/39evfBmnN9
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) July 2, 2021
A total of seven people were wounded in the attack, including a 1-month old girl who was shot in the head. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the baby survived because the bullet did not pierce her skull, though the car seat she was strapped into was riddled with several bullet holes. According to the Sun-Times, there have been mass 24 mass shootings in Chicago this year, using the definition of mass shooting as four or more people being injured by gunfire.
“It’s hurtful, it’s painful,” the baby’s uncle said. “To know that I’m out here serving and protecting the community and fighting against gun violence every day and it ends up my people that’s afflicted from this gun violence.” Six other people were struck during the shooting, all described as being in “good condition” by police.
The shooting occurred around 8:15 p.m. Less than two hours earlier, mayor Lori Lightfoot berated a journalist who asked if she should apologize for mishandling the city’s surging crime wave. “Crime is not out of control in our city,” she insisted. “In fact, crime is on the decline.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot: “Crime is not out of control in our city. In fact, crime is on the decline.”
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 30, 2021
Lightfoot has claimed that 99% of all criticism of her actions is motivated by “racism and sexism.”