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Fourth of July: 12 cities accounted for a third of shootings

  • There were 547 shootings across the U.S. over the 4th of July weekend
  • 12 U.S. cities accounted for one-third of all incidents
  • 2023 had fewer "mass shootings" than in recent years

Police investigate the scene of a shooting Monday, July 3, 2023 in Philadelphia. Police say a gunman in a bulletproof vest has opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia, killing several people and wounding two boys before he surrendered to responding officers. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

(NewsNation) — Since Saturday, hundreds of shootings across the U.S. have left 234 people dead and 546 others injured, marking another violent Fourth of July weekend.

NewsNation reviewed data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) from July 1 through July 4. The analysis found 12 U.S. cities accounted for one-third of the 547 shootings across the entire country over the time period.

There were 183 shootings across: Atlanta (7), Baltimore (11), Chicago (41), Cleveland (15), Detroit (14), Houston (9), Los Angeles (17), Memphis (10), Milwaukee (23), Philadelphia (10), New York City (11) and Washington D.C. (15).

In Chicago — the nation’s third largest city — seven people were killed and 44 others were wounded across 41 shootings from Saturday to Tuesday night.

Just to the north, the much smaller city of Milwaukee saw 23 shootings that resulted in six deaths and 17 people injured.

The GVA also tracks “mass shootings,” which it defines as a shooting where four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooter.

There were 16 of those incidents across the entire country between July 1 and July 4 this year — including attacks in Fort Worth and Philadelphia.

Another shooting in Baltimore on Sunday left two dead and 28 injured. In that case, at least two people opened fire at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area. Police don’t know if the shooting was targeted or random.

Over the same period last year, there were 20 mass shootings, according to the GVA. In 2021, there were 21 such incidents.

Northeastern University criminologist James Allen Fox told NewsNation there are a number of factors that can make Independence Day an especially dangerous weekend.

“On July Fourth weekend, you have lots of gatherings. People are out of work or school that day, these gatherings often involve inebriation and perhaps hot weather, which impacts our responses,” Fox said. “When there’s concealed weapons in the mix, deadly things can happen.”

NewsNation’s Steve Joachim contributed to this report.

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