A Chicago pastor called Father’s Day “horrible” after 14 people, including a 3-year-old boy, were killed on the city’s most violent weekend this year.
The Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church met with neighbors and family members of 3-year-old Mekhi James, who was fatally shot Saturday, to report the violence, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“A line was crossed,” Acree said. “This is a horrible father’s day. This 3 year old baby lost his life. … I couldn’t shepherd this community and not say something.
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“We say black lives matter, but we are here to say that the lives of black babies matter more.”
Reverend Ira Acree of the Greater Saint John Biblical Church pictured in 2015. He is speaking out against the deadly shootings in Chicago over Father’s Day weekend.
Police said Mekhi was riding in the back seat of a vehicle in the South Austin neighborhood with his 27-year-old father, the intended target, when he was hit. A few hours later, about five blocks from where Mekhi was killed, three teenagers were shot, including a 13-year-old girl who died.
Two teens, ages 17 and 16, were also killed Saturday in another shooting in the southern Chicago neighborhood.
Acree announced that its church is offering a $ 2,500 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the person who shot Mekhi.
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Chicago was one of the main cities of the EE. The US, including Seattle, Minneapolis, and New York City, which reported bloody weekends amid increased calls to disburse and dissolve police departments.
Police Superintendent David Brown said police were working to locate those responsible for the violence in various Chicago communities. “Gangs, weapons and drugs” are the common threads in those shootings, he said.
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“Bullets don’t just destroy things they hit,” Brown said. “The bullets also destroy families. Bullets destroy neighborhoods and ruin any sense of security in a community. “
The violence comes almost a month after Chicago recorded its deadliest Memorial Day weekend since 2015. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in shootings.
Edmund DeMarche of Fox News and Associated Press contributed to this report.
