The gunshot death of two children over a weekend sparked outrage in Chicago, with police imploring residents of the third-largest city in the United States to share any useful information to reduce the violence.
Chicago is experiencing an upsurge in shootings ahead of National Day on July 4, usually the most violent time of the year in the city - with 12 people killed just last weekend.
Sincere Gaston, a one-year-old infant, was shot and killed in his car seat near his mother, who was returning from a laundromat. Lina Nunez Anaya, a 10-year-old girl, was killed at home. An 8-year-old girl was injured in similar circumstances.
"Bastards"
"Please, for the children of Chicago, contact us if you have any information that can help us solve these crimes," urged Brendan, chief of police inspectors for the city of nearly 3 million. Deenihan.
"We must all be indignant at this violence, all," added another official, David Brown, in a poignant appeal, calling the perpetrators of the shots "bastards".
He pledged to crack down on drug hideouts - "the heart of the Chicago shootings and murders" - and to make a longer-term effort to divert youth from crime.
A 3-year-old child shot dead last weekend
The weekend before, 106 people had been targeted, including 14 fatally, including a 3-year-old boy, Mekhi James, in the back of a car driven by his father.
"We all need to ask ourselves what we can do every day to protect these children," said Lori Lightfoot, the city's mayor, located on the shores of Lake Michigan. "And I'm not just talking about the victims. I'm talking about the shooters too. What can we do to reach them? She asked during a press briefing.
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Many other large American cities marked by violence in some of their neighborhoods, such as New York and Washington, have improved their reputation since the 1980s and 1990s. But Chicago does not succeed, like other cities smaller ones, like Detroit or Baltimore.
