AT least nine people have died and 93 are injured after violence broke out across the country during Fourth of July celebrations.
Children and teens make up many of the victims and are some of the perpetrators, in the deadly gun and knife violence.
Following a series of altercations, frustrated police chiefs have delivered strict warnings and set curfews, expressing their exhaustion with managing unruly youths and addressing the tragic loss of young lives.
Various mass casualty events linked to Independence Day festivities broke out from Friday night and spilled into the rest of the weekend.
Once again, July 4th is proving to be one of the most dangerous times of the year in the US, with the incidents listed here representing only a small portion of the weekend’s casualties and injuries.
Charlottesville children shot
Violence broke out just after 11 pm in Charlottesville, Virginia, when shots rang out on Orangedale Avenue.
In one instance, five individuals, including three children aged 9, 11, and 17, were wounded in what authorities describe as a gang-related shooting, with gunshots drowning out the crackle of fireworks.
The other two victims were 18 years old and 52 years old – none of those shot were the intended targets, police told WCAV.
Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis called footage of the incident disturbing as it captured terrified children crying and screaming.
“You shot a 9-year-old kid. Think about that for a second,” he told those responsible as authorities continue their investigation to track down the shooters.
10 injured in Albany
Albany, New York, saw a spate of shootings and a house fire sparked by a teenager firing a flare gun on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning.
In total, 10 people were injured with four people shot in Madison Avenue just before 10 pm as the Empire State Plaza fireworks came to an end.
A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head and is still in a critical condition while the three others are expected to survive their injuries.
Police Chief Brendan Cox said there was a skirmish between a group of teenagers with one firing a flare gun and another firing a handgun.
Another shooting took place after 1 am on Saturday when a group of teenagers fired a handgun at people gathered at a home there – five people were shot.
The victims were made up of two 16-year-old girls, a 15-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, and a 41-year-old woman – all were taken to hospital and their conditions are not life-threatening.
I am tired of youth who feel violence is their only answer to conflict.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old was shot in the foot in a third incident around 5:30 pm as officials warn of an “uptick in violence” especially among teenagers.
“Obviously there is a clear uptick in violence, specifically gun violence, both with handguns and flare guns with our teen population,” Chief Cox said.
“We continue to have teens walking around our streets and just indiscriminately firing rounds at people.”
“We cannot have that. That has to stop. And we need help to do that.”
Double shooting in North Carolina
A double shooting took place in North Carolina on Friday night and Saturday, injuring three in total – one critically.
Just after 10:15 pm after a July 4 celebration at the Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem, gun fire broke out in the parking lot injuring a juvenile.
A 16-year-old has been arrested in connection to the shooting.
Meanwhile, two people were shot at Center City Park in downtown Greensboro during festivities, causing families to run for cover.
One of the victims is in critical condition.
Winston-Salem Police Chief William H. Penn, Jr echoed the sentiments of his counterparts in other regions of the county, slamming parents and the behavior of “undisciplined and unattended juveniles”.
“I am tired of events ending in violence. I am tired of seeing the men and women of the Winston-Salem Police Department dealing with your children and the chaos they are causing in our community,” he said in a statement.
“I am tired of innocent people and businesses being impacted by your child’s unruly behavior.
“I am tired of youth who feel violence is their only answer to conflict.”
“We do our job 24/7. You do yours,” he added.
Teens killed in Indianapolis
Police frustration also emerged from Indianapolis, Indiana, after two teenagers died and six people were shot in a mass shooting on Saturday morning.
The horror shooting broke out in the early hours where “hundreds” of juveniles had gathered near South Illinois Street and West Washington Street.
Cops were dealing with an altercation when gunshots rang out half a block away.
Upon arrival they found six people shot including a 16-year-old boy who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The five victims were taken to hospital where a 15-year-old boy later died – a sixth victim walked into a hospital with non-critical injury.
Police said in a briefing that the majority of those injured were teenagers with the oldest victim being 21.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey recalled the night of chaos with “hundreds” of juveniles gathering with the intent to cause trouble.
He called events “completely unacceptable and unnecessary” and called for parents to “step up” saying, “We are not your children’s keepers. You are.”
“A kid is dead tonight…It’s unacceptable,” he said from the scene.
Chief Bailey spoke of how around 20 arrests were made on Friday night alone and that guns were seized from children before the mass shooting broke out.
A summer curfew has now been rolled out for juveniles in the city and Chief Bailey has called for parents of teens to also be held accountable for any violence.
Philadelphia bar party shooting
Eight people were shot and injured during a mass shooting at a bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Shots rang out just before 4 am local time at the 7 Elements bar on 11th Street and Washington Avenue.
All victims aged between 25 and 43 are in a stable condition as police continue to investigate how many shooters were there.
The bar had been closed for two hours by the time shooting broke out with two security guards included in the number of injured people.
It was the city’s largest shooting since two people died and nine were injured when violence broke out on Memorial Day.
Six shot at street gathering
Also in the early hours of Saturday morning, six people were injured in a shooting at a street gathering in Brockton, Massachusetts.
A large altercation took place on May Street just before 2 am police said, where over a dozen people had gathered for a July 4th party.
When cops arrived on scene, they found six people suffering from gunshot wounds – they were taken to hospital and their conditions are not known.
“There was a large fight. An altercation. And they heard gunshots ring out. I think we also had multiple 911 calls saying that some people were hit,” Darren Duarte of the Brockton Police Department said.
One man who lives down the street said a stray bullet flew into his home and landed on the rug next to his bed where he was sleeping.
“The bullet landed on the floor about two and a half feet from my bed, where I was sleeping,” he told CBS News.
Queens knife violence
Meanwhile, in Queens, New York, one person was killed and two were injured in a stabbing on Saturday morning as Fourth of July celebrations died down around 2 am.
A 25-year-old man died after being stabbed in the chest.
Another 25-year-old man was stabbed in the ribs and a 24-year-old suffered a slash wound to the torso.
Cops believe a fight broke out between a group of people who gathered in the street near 112th Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica.
Six killed and scores injured in Chicago
A spate of mass shootings in Chicago, Illinois, left six dead and at least 54 injured over the holiday weekend, cops confirmed on Saturday.
Victims include a 43-year-old man shot in the back while sitting in his car in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood and a 30-year-old man shot in the head in the Austin neighborhood.
Hours before these incidents, a mass shooting near Cook County Courthouse left four injured, three critically, in a drive-by incident.
There was also a mass shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Friday night where at least seven people were seriously injured.
Two men started shooting into a crowd of people with the majority of victims in their 20s.
Meanwhile, a teenage girl died after being shot in the throat at Avalon Park – a 35-year-old man was also injured in the shooting.
Another mass shooting wounded four on the Far South Side just after 3 am on Saturday – hours later, three men were shot in Englewood.
As well as mass shootings and stabbings, July 4 also sees an increase in firework-related injuries and deaths, car crashes, and domestic violence.
