Chicagoans walk for peace, remembering gun violence victims

When Joshua C. Shelton was a young boy, he had to cross gang-enforced neighborhood boundaries, quickly running to and from school to avoid any street conflicts.

Now, as a young police officer in Englewood, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods on the South side of Chicago, he carries the weight of seeking out solutions to stop the violence that fractures the third-biggest city in the United States.

"Violence has to stop and it is better stopped starting with each individual, the parents of each household, and the leaders of the community," Shelton told a large crowd who took part in the Walk for Peace on Friday.

The peaceful march in Englewood attracted several hundred people, including faith leaders, civic rights activists and family members who lost their beloved ones, remembering the victims of gun violence.

The procession stopped at several street corners, with people reciting the names of those who have been killed since January.

The situation has worsened these years, especially in 2016, when Chicago saw 762 murders -- an average of two per day, the most killings in the city for two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined.

The city "so full of life and excitement," as Shelton described, recorded 1,100 more shooting incidents in 2016 than the previous year, according to statistics released by the Chicago Police Department.

Preliminary data compiled by Chicago Tribune show that till April 14, a total of 865 people have been shot dead or injured this year.

Chicago's notorious organized gangs have been splintered into smaller groups that now shoot up the city's streets. Violence that seems gang-related is often personal, as young men shoot each other over insignificant insults and conflicts, said analysts.

Most of the shootings happened on the West and South sides, where many young African-Americans have no jobs, see no hope.

On the same day as hymns like "We Shall Overcome" echoed in the streets where the Walk for Peace took place, Chicago police reported that another three people were wounded in shootings, including a 15-year-old boy. Endi