At least 150 people were killed in hundreds of shootings over the Fourth of July weekend, according to CNN, as Chicago saw its deadliest weekend of violence so far this year.

Citing data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, CNN said the US had seen a surge of 400 shootings over the weekend.

A total of 92 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, according to The Chicago Sun Times, with 18 people killed.

Six children were reportedly injured in shootings in the city during what Police Superintendent David Brown had warned would be the “most challenging weekend of the year”.

In one incident on the South Side, two people were killed and four wounded, including a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.

Around the same time, a six-year-old girl and a woman were shot in West Pullman, while another shooting hours later saw an 11-year-old-boy and a man shot on the South Side.

Two Chicago police officers were also among those who suffered gunshot wounds, according to the Chicago Police Department.

In a Twitter statement, the department said both officers were transported to Stroger hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It comes as statistics released by police on Thursday showed that there were fewer killings in Chicago over the first few months of 2021 compared with the same period last year, despite a rise in the number of shootings and people shot.

According to the data, there were 332 killings in Chicago between 1 January and last Wednesday, representing six fewer than in the first half of the year in 2020.

Meanwhile, in New York, at least 26 people were shot in 21 shootings between Friday and Sunday, according to CNN.

While New York has seen levels of gun violence unparalleled in recent years, the figure represents a drop from the same time last year, when 30 people were shot in 25 shootings, the broadcaster said.

In addition to the violence in Chicago and New York, there were several mass shootings, or shootings involving four or more victims killed or wounded by gunfire, elsewhere over the holiday weekend.

In Norfolk, Virginia, four children were shot on Friday afternoon, including a six-year-old girl who was reported to have suffered life-threatening injuries, but is now in stable condition, CNN reported.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with the shooting, which also saw a 14-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl shot at, although they are expected to recover from their injuries.

In another shooting early on Sunday morning, eight people were injured in a shooting near a car wash in Fort Worth, Texas, following an argument between a group of men, according to the Fort Worth police department.

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