CPD to crack down on large crowds in effort to prevent shootings

Police will begin cracking down on large gatherings in the city. This is in response to one of the most violent weekends in recent Chicago history.

Chicago police say if you are hanging out on the street this weekend and your group gets too big, be prepared to get a visit from police. The superintendent says 20 percent of the weekend's shooting victims were at large outdoor gatherings.

“We can't have another weekend like we had last weekend,” Supt. Eddie Johnson said.

To try to make communities safer and prevent the devastating headlines of last weekend -- 66 people shot, 12 fatally, numerous juveniles wounded and several mass shootings on the city's south and west sides -- Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is creating a plan of attack, including zeroing in on "unsanctioned large street gatherings."

“We have to look at what they are doing such as drinking, amplified music, smoking weed, those types of things, littering, all those things will factor into how we gage it,” Johnson said.

The superintendent says officers will approach a group and if they see fit, will ask the party to disperse. If they don't, there could be arrests.

In the Lawndale neighborhood at 16th and Avers last Saturday night, neighbors say it started as an official block party meant for kids and families but grew through the night to 200 people. Then around midnight, two men fired shots, wounding three juveniles and an adult.

The superintendent urges this is not about cracking down on official block parties, but that this is more about the party that goes from ten people to 200 people in a matter of minutes.

This strategy on top of the 600 extra officers that will be patrolling this weekend will hopefully stem the violence.