Sep 7, 2008

Bloody summer in Chicago

Twice as many people were shot dead in Chicago during the summer as there were US troop deaths in Iraq.

An estimated 125 people were shot and killed in Chicago over the summer which is nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps.

Information compiled from reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 125 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

In the same time period, an estimated 247 people were shot and wounded in the city.

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