Chicago law enforcement is bracing for a hostile week at the Democratic National Convention as the city still reels from a crime-plagued weekend.
At least 11 people were shot across Chicago over the weekend, three of them fatally, as another weekend of violence gripped the city.
With police resources already stretched to the limit, anticipation of protests and possible looting has led several businesses to board up their facades.
Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets throughout the DNC, and while Chicago officials approved a “March on the DNC” rally near the convention, Mayor Brandon Johnson insisted the city will be prepared.
Chicago was hit by crime over the weekend, with at least 11 people shot across the city, including the death of a man who was killed by police (pictured) on Sunday.
In anticipation of protests ahead of the Democratic National Convention, businesses across the city have closed their doors to survive a potentially crime-ridden week.
More than a dozen people have been shot, including at least two officer-involved shootings in Chicago, during the weekend of violence before the Democratic National Committee kicks off Tuesday.
The latest occurred shortly after midnight Sunday in the Pilsen neighborhood, when officers with the force’s Robbery Task Force ran onto a residential street after hearing multiple gunshots.
Upon arrival, police shot one armed assailant, who later died at the hospital, while two victims were found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds near where officers heard the shots.
It came just over a day after an officer also fired shots at a vehicle wanted in connection with a homicide, at a time when Chicago police officers were deployed across the city dealing with the violence.
Hours after the officer-involved shooting, a 28-year-old man was shot and killed in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood when an unidentified gunman shot him as he walked on the sidewalk before speeding away.
Officers seen at the scene of a broad daylight shooting in Chicago on Saturday afternoon, where they treated one of at least 11 shooting victims over the weekend – 3 of them fatally.
Police officers stand on a residential street in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood Saturday night where a 28-year-old man was shot and killed.
On Sunday morning, a man was shot near the United Center arena where the Democratic National Committee will be held, while another motorist shot him when they collided with each other.
And just outside Chicago’s United Center arena, where Kamala Harris will officially accept the Democratic nomination for president, a man was left in critical condition after being shot on the event space Sunday morning.
It came after he was injured in an accident on the north side of the stadium, prompting the driver of the car he crashed into to fire several shots at his car.
The weekend of bloody violence was far from a smooth start for Chicago, with 33 people shot over the previous weekend, police said.
Despite the city being gripped by crime, city officials have authorized at least seven large demonstrations, with the focus expected to be on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Hatem Abudayyeh, national chairman of the Palestinian Community Network of America, which is organizing the protests, said the group is still dissatisfied with Kamala Harris’ stance on the conflict.
“Harris represents the administration; she represents Biden,” he said. “We’re not going to do anything different. We’re going to mobilize.”
He added to the Washington Post: ‘Our target is the Democratic Party and the party leadership and ‘Killer Kamala’ is one of them.’
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson insisted his city is ready to host the Democratic National Committee, but admitted: ‘Are there people who want to disrupt the beauty of Chicago? Of course there are.’
As anxiety mounts ahead of the convention, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee, insisted his city will be able to handle the protests.
“There’s a reason Time Out magazine named Chicago the best city for conventions, because we’re good at it,” he said at a news conference Friday.
‘Are there people who want to alter the beauty of Chicago? Of course there are.
The city allowed the planned protests amid mounting pressure from First Amendment rights groups, and the FBI said it is “not aware of any specific, articulable threats related to the Democratic National Committee.”
