Chicago Police superintendent Garry McCarthy has called for stricter gun laws after ten people, including a seven-year-old boy, were killed in separate shootings in Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

"We need to repair a broken system," McCarthy told reporters on Sunday. "Criminals don't feel the repercussions of the justice system."

Among the victims was Amari Brown, 7, who was shot in the chest while watching fireworks with his father. He died from the fatal wound Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, a 26-year-old man was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead later in a hospital.

Also, a gunman opened fire fatally shooting three people while they were at an alley where people were letting off fireworks on Sunday. Five other people were killed in separate shooting incidents.

McCarthy acknowledged that the police department’s decision to increase officers’ presence in the city by 30 percent in anticipation of holiday violence could not prevent the killings.

“If you think that putting more cops on the street would make a difference, then take a look at the fact that we put a third more manpower on the street for this weekend,” McCarthy said.

He went on to say that gun violence will not end unless criminals are brought to justice.

“What’s the result? We’re getting more guns. Well, that’s great,” he said. “It’s not stopping the violence. And it’s not going to stop the violence until criminals are held accountable and something is done to stem the flow of these guns into our city.”

According to Gun Violence Archive, over 6,300 people have been killed and almost 13,000 have been wounded in the United States as a result of more than 24,500 shootings so far this year.

AT/AGB