Chicago police say gun violence lower despite weekend deaths

Chicago police say despite five people being fatally shot in less than 24 hours, gun violence in the city is declining.

Among the fatalities was a 15-year-old boy found early Sunday on a sidewalk with wounds in his leg and back.

Police say the night of violence began Saturday evening in the West Englewood neighbourhood, where two men, ages 32 and 26, were fatally shot as they sat on a front porch. Two others were killed elsewhere.

Chicago police say the 46 homicides reported in the city in August was a 23% decline from the same month last year. The number of shootings decreased 19%.

Chicago has had 329 homicides this year. That’s a 14% decline from the same period in 2018. Police say the number of shootings totalled 1,425, a 12% drop.