17 killed as Chicago sees deadliest weekend of the year

CHICAGO - At least 17 people were killed and more than 40 others were injured in shootings since Friday in the nation's third-largest city, marking the deadliest weekend in what has been the city's most violent year in more than a decade. There's already been more than 600 homicides in Chicago this year. The city is tallying murders at a rate not seen since the late 1990s in the midst of violence fueled by the crack cocaine epidemic. Police and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have blamed the current spike in street violence on increased gang activity and gun laws that they say aren't strong enough to deter convicted felons from carrying and using weapons. The violence has disproportionately impacted predominantly ...

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