A Chicago hospital had to stop taking patients due to excessive number of shooting victims

A major hospital in Chicago was so overwhelmed with shooting victims over the weekend that it was forced to temporarily stop accepting new patients, according to CNN.

There were several gang-related multi-victim shootings on the west side of Chicago on Sunday, overwhelming Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the five trauma centers in Chicago and causing patients to be diverted elsewhere.

"You have to stop yourself and ask what will it take before we get a handle on what's going on," Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson said. "Not only in Chicago, but across the country. From police departments to the court systems to prosecutors to legislators—we have to come together and figure out more common-sense solutions to these problems because clearly too many of our citizens are being shot and killed."

7 killed, 45 injured in Chicago weekend gun violenceyoutu.be

How bad was it?

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, three separate shootings resulted in 17 people shot and at least one person killed, and at one point Sunday morning Mount Sinai had 12 trauma patients.

Overall, at least 46 people were shot in Chicago from 5 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, following up the previous weekend during which eight people were killed and 40 injured in gun violence.

What's being done about this?

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to work with Chicago police to put 1,500 more police officers on the street and try to confiscate weapons from people with expired gun owner's ID cards to reduce gun violence in the city, saying last month "People cannot and should not live in neighborhoods that resemble a war zone."

Last month, Chicago police executed a series of raids on the South and West sides of the city. Police made nearly 200 arrests and seized dozens of guns.

Lightfoot's approach to gun violence in Chicago has been to frame it as a public health crisis, which she says will lead the city to focus efforts on economic investment in the most violent areas of Chicago, and improving the relationship between minorities and law enforcement.