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Seven killed in three separate shootings in Chicago

Saturday, 01 April 2017 4:32 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 01 April 2017 9:27 AM ]

Chicago Police officers walk near the scene where four people were shot and killed at a restaurant in the 2700 block of East 75th Street, on March 30, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by AFP)

Seven people, including a pregnant woman, have been killed in three separate shootings in the US city of Chicago.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said on Friday that the shootings that happened within 12 hours of each other in the South Shore neighborhood were mostly due to drug gang conflict.

"I'm angry and sick," Johnson said during a news conference. "You have my promise that CPD will utilize the full weight of our resources to go after the individuals responsible for yesterday's incidents."

"The drug industry is what helps them fuel the violence by being able to pay for their activities, as the chief said. They use a lot of money to go out suburbs and purchase guns to wreak havoc on our neighborhood," he stated.

In the latest incident, a vehicle pulled alongside a van late on Thursday and opened fire. A man and a woman were shot, and the van crashed into a pole.

About 3:30 pm, a gunman walked into a restaurant and shot two men to death. The victims were identified as Emmanuel C. Stokes, 28, and Edwin Davis, 32.

People grieve after a shooting that left four people dead at a restaurant in the 2700 block of East 75th Street on March 30, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by AFP)

Two other men, Dillon and Raheem Jackson, fled the violence at the restaurant but both were shot and killed in different parking lots nearby.

A young woman, who identified herself as the Jackson brothers’ sister, screamed at officers to move the bodies out of the rain.

All four were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The neighborhood’s first homicide of the day happened shortly after noon inside an apartment, where 26-year-old Patrice L. Calvin, who was four months pregnant, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head.

The latest episode of gun violence happened days after President Donald Trump met with police union leaders from across the US at the White House.

The president specifically called out the gun violence in Chicago, which saw more than 700 murders last year.

US President Donald Trump (C) speaks as he hosts a listening session with the Fraternal Order of Police at the White House in Washington, DC, March 28, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

"Last year in Chicago, 4,368 people were shot. Nearly 700 more have already been shot since January of this year, alone. I ask, what is going on in Chicago? What is going on? There is no excuse for it," Trump said on Tuesday.

Trump also doubled down on his campaign pledge “to make America safe again.”

“I made a crucial pledge. We will always support the incredible men and women of law enforcement. I will always have your back 100 percent,” he told the police union leaders.

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