Gun violence didn't take an Independence Day holiday in Chicago this year.
The Chicago Tribune newspaper has reported more than 100 people were shot over the weekend, and police have confirmed at least 14 homicides occurred between Friday evening and Wednesday morning (local time).
Chicago, the third largest city in the US, has seen an escalation of gang-related gun violence, with the number of killings increasing from 485 to 764 last year.
Before the holiday weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to tout a new taskforce aimed at decreasing the spread of illegal guns in the city, despite plans beginning under the previous administration.
The taskforce included an additional 20 federal agents that arrived on June 1 and will work with Chicago police officers, state troopers, intelligence analysts and state prosecutors.
Mr Trump has previously been criticised for describing Chicago as an uncontrolled "war zone", while not laying out long-term policies for the city.
Violence brings back painful memories
It's familiar news for Eddie Cox, a Chicago native living in Melbourne.
Two of his brothers were shot and killed in Chicago, one of them on Independence Day, so this weekend has brought back some painful memories.
"Tony got killed on the Fourth of July. He got robbed. He loved wearing jewellery," he said.
"It was two guys that shot him in broad daylight. Four o'clock in the afternoon."
Eddie's youngest brother Antoine was killed in 1993, followed by Tony in 2002.
Eddie says he's still shocked at the level of violence in the city.
"I look at all these killings, innocent people dying. And it's still the same," he said.
"I still remember like it was yesterday when my brother Tony got killed. It was my daughter's birthday."
Mr Cox left the United States in 1993 to play basketball, playing with the Werribee Devils and the Hume City Broncos, before retiring to Melbourne in 2006.
He said he thinks Chicago's high unemployment has increased violence in the city, and there hasn't been enough action from the Government.
"We thought Obama would have done more than what he did when he was president," he said.
"It was only like, 50 feds they sent to Chicago. Now I'm thinking, what can 50 feds do? There's a hundred gangs there! They need the army."
Despite the constant reminder of his family's tragedy, Eddie is keeping the memory of his brothers alive in other ways.
"I named my only son Antonio, because of my two brothers, Antoine and Tony," he said.
