In recent years the City of Chicago has been notorious for its extensive violent crime incidents. Those who live in the city know it to be home but they never underestimate the dangers of the city.

From 1990-1999 there were over 3000 homicides, most of which happened in the most infamous part of Chicago, the south side. Nicknamed “Chiraq,” the south side holds Chicago’s most impoverished neighborhoods and is considered to be the most dangerous place in the United States. It earned the nickname because media outlets began to compare the number deaths in the south side to the number of deaths reported from the war in Iraq.

Chicago is upholding that nickname and some. In October of this year, Chicago reached 600 fatalities on its streets. More than last 2 years and on its way to having the highest death rates the city has seen in a decade. Last weekend ,the city saw its bloodiest weekend with 17 people fatally shot.

This week the city had already claimed 12 lives and 57 people have been shot in total. To date, this year has seen 3702 people shot and 654 total homicides. These numbers topple the 580 killed in Iraq in 2003 and the 599 murdered in Chicago in 2003. In the United States homicides are real and in some parts of the country like Chicago, high school kids are shooting or being shot at. It’s not often covered in the media, but deranged people entering a school that gleans all the attention, but also when just as many or more are killed and people are fighting for their lives daily.