Dozens shot in multiple U.S. cities during bloody holiday weekend

Police officers take photos and investigate at the scene of a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, the United States, July 4, 2022. (Photo by Vincent Johnson/Xinhua)

Gun violence tore through major U.S. cities including Philadelphia and Chicago over the holiday weekend.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Americans were shot - 15 people fatally - in multiple cities over the U.S. Labor Day weekend.

Gun violence tore through major U.S. cities including Philadelphia and Chicago over the holiday weekend.

Police in Chicago reported that seven people were killed in gun violence and at least 44 were shot between Friday night and Saturday night.

ABC 7 Chicago reported that a 24-year-old man was hit with multiple gunshots in the back after several attackers ambushed him around 6:30 p.m. Friday, while the individual was standing on a sidewalk.

That same evening, four men shot 45 rounds at a 15-year-old boy while he was walking in South Chicago. Two rounds pierced his back and the boy was hospitalized.

After midnight on Saturday, a 31-year-old man was shot in the chest on Chicago's North side and later died in a hospital, according to police.

Just hours later, a 22-year-old man died of multiple gunshot wounds after being taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

A police vehicle runs out of the scene of a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, the United States, July 4, 2022. (Photo by Vincent Johnson/Xinhua)

On Saturday afternoon, a 28-year-old man was shot dead during an argument in Chicago at a gas station.

Around 11 p.m. Saturday, a 20-year-old man was killed by gunfire after an argument inside someone's home, according to law enforcement.

So far no arrests have been made.

Philadelphia - nicknamed the city of brotherly love - saw a surge of gun violence over the holiday weekend. Within 72 hours, at least 27 people were shot, with eight fatalities, according to Fox 29.

Around 4 a.m. Saturday, two men were shot dead in the city's Kingsessing neighborhood.

Just hours later, a 45-year-old man was gunned down in the city's Hunting Park area.

On Sunday around 1:45 p.m., a 19-year-old man was shot dead during an argument at a drive-in chicken restaurant in West Philadelphia.

Later, a 22-year-old was hit with bullets in the city's Wissinoming area and hospitalized.

As of Sunday, Philadelphia had 364 homicides this year, and saw a whopping 2,440 shootings as of Aug. 28.

Critics noted that shootings and gun deaths have skyrocketed in cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia, where progressive lawmakers and city officials have called to defund the police.