14 dead and 74 wounded by gunfire in Chicago during the American National Day weekend

 Sylvie Claire / July 6, 2021

14 people were shot and 74 wounded in Chicago on the occasion of the extended weekend of the American national holiday, traditionally marred by violence, announced Monday the police of the northern metropolis of the United States.

Most of the victims died in separate incidents. A 40-year-old man was killed by a neighbor who blamed him for playing music too loudly, two young men shot in a park by a drive-by shooter, a 19-year-old man was found dead on a sidewalk.

At least five minors, including two girls aged 5 and 6, were among the injured, as were two police officers hit while trying to disperse a crowd in the western part of the city which suffers from endemic violence.

Fourth of July revelry, which celebrates the U.S. declaration of independence in 1776, is traditionally plagued by shootings in Chicago, the nation's third largest city, which is plagued by violent gangs.

In 2020, 15 people were killed during this long weekend, when people go out in the street or in parks for grills and fireworks.

The problem does not spare the rest of the United States. According to a preliminary count by the Gun Violence Archive, at least 150 people have been killed by guns since Friday in the country.

The U.S. recorded more than 19,000 gun murders in 2020, a year marked by a surge in homicides in every American city.