Funerals For Gang Members Are Getting 'Out Of Control' In Chicago

Residents of Chicago are no stranger to gun violence that has plagued parts of the Windy City over the past few years. There have been 370 shootings in 2018, which is down from 2016 and 2017, years which saw over 500 shootings during the same time period, and 85 fatalities. Law enforcement has been working to decrease the number of shootings and deaths and has turned their eye to a growing problem, violence during funerals. 

According to Fox News, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart recently sat down with funeral directors, cemetery workers, and religious and political leaders to discuss the growing problem. In one recent instance, shots were fired during a funeral procession that was heading to Oakridge Cemetary. Police followed the car and arrested the occupants finding three guns in the process. 

Hillside Police Chief Joseph Lukaszek told Fox 32 the problem is "getting out of control."

"It's getting out of control, it really is. The gangs just think that it's a safe haven for them and they do whatever they want to do."

Funeral director John McCall said the violence could be "dramatic" for the funeral directors and the families who are mourning the loss of a loved one. 

It is dramatic for the families and very dramatic even for the funeral directors, the violence that's going on and all the things that's happening. Guns and knives

It has gotten so bad that at least one cemetery has resorted to hiring off-duty police officers to keep people safe during funerals for known gang members.

Dart hopes to assemble a "task force made up of political, religious and funeral industry leaders to come up with ideas to curb violence at gang funerals." He hopes the task force can put together a proposal and start working out a plan by May. He wants to have something in place before the summer when the number of shootings tends to rise.

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