At least 26 dead in July 4 violence

Photo: Pat Nabong Chicago Sun-Times via Associated Press Erin Cartwright Weinstein at the Independence Day parade along Central Avenue in Highland Park, Illinois

John Raby – Associated Press

Posted at 5:56 p.m.

• United States

Shootings and other violence over the July 4 long weekend left at least 26 people dead, including 11 in Chicago, and injured dozens more nationwide, authorities said.

July 4 is historically one of the deadliest days of the year in the country. A year ago, a series of shootings around the holidays left more than a dozen dead and more than 60 injured. And a year earlier, seven people died in a shooting during a Fourth of July parade near Chicago.

In that city, on Friday morning, 11 people were killed and 55 others injured in shootings earlier in the long weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The violence included a mass shooting Thursday that killed two women and an 8-year-old boy.

The recent violence “has left our city in a state of mourning,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We are devastated by the recent violence […] and we extend our deepest condolences to the families and communities affected by these recent events,” he added.

< h2 class="h2-intertitre">Violence in Southern California

In Huntington Beach, California, two people were killed and three others injured during an attack on Independence Day less than two hours after a fireworks display ended, police said. Authorities arrested a suspect after responding to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon Thursday evening.

15-year-old boy arrested during shooting in Niles, Ohio, 10-year-old girl dies in Cleveland

In the northeast Ohio community of Niles, Police Chief Jay Holland reported that a 15-year-old man was in custody after a 23-year-old man was fatally shot Thursday evening during of a party in a residence.

A 10-year-old girl was also fatally shot in a Cleveland neighborhood, police said. It is not yet known what started the shooting or whether it was targeted.

Fatal drive-by shooting in Philadelphia

A 19-year-old man was killed and six others injured in a drive-by shooting in Philadelphia Thursday evening.

The injured, including four minors, were being treated in hospitals for various injuries that were not life-threatening. It is not yet known what motivated the shooting.

Shootings in Boston area leave 1 dead, 5 injured

Three shootings took place in the Boston area following the celebrations, leaving one dead. The fatal shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. Friday in a park near Boston's South End neighborhood. Around the same time, three other people were injured in the city's nearby Jamaica Plain neighborhood. A third shooting at a gas station then left one victim seriously injured.

17-year-old man suffered a stomach injury in another shooting Thursday evening in a condo parking lot in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Connecticut woman shot to death in car

In Connecticut, a woman was found shot to death in her car Friday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police identified her as Shamyria Williams, 23, of Hartford. Relatives told reporters they believed she had just left a Fourth of July party.

Six teenagers shot dead at home in Albany

Police in Albany, New York, said six men between the ages of 16 and 19 were being treated at a hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening after a shooting at a large gathering.

Police responded to reports of a shooting at a home around 12:15 a.m. Friday. None of the victims were found at the scene, but police found evidence consistent with gunshots in the yard behind the residence and on the street.

Four injured in shooting at Tampa nightclub

Four people were injured in a shooting early Friday outside a Tampa adult nightclub after an altercation between the club's security guard and two men, police said.

The two men drove their car past the Pink Pussycat Lounge and one of them shot the security guard with a handgun, police said. The security guard was operated on at a hospital and was in stable condition. Three other men suffered minor injuries, but their conditions were not immediately clear. Police said the two suspects were arrested and charged with multiple crimes.

Violence elsewhere

In the Queens borough of New York, an 8-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in an apartment during what police described as a domestic dispute. Police said officers later shot and killed a 20-year-old man who held a knife to his 43-year-old father's throat and refused orders to drop the weapon.

In High Point, North Carolina, a shooting during an unofficial fireworks display left one person dead after a large crowd gathered in the town's parking lot about 90 miles (145 kilometers) away. west of Raleigh, police said. The victim was identified as Keith S. Lynch, 32, of High Point.

Shootings at two Fourth of July rallies in the St. Louis area left two people dead and five others injured, two of them seriously, police said.

In West Virginia, Charles Speer, 42, of Kermit, died early Friday after being shot multiple times following a physical altercation at the home of another man, state police said.

And a road rage incident led to the shooting death of a 36-year-old man years in Taneytown, Maryland, according to the Carroll County Sheriff's Office.