Parade participants and their mothers demand action during the Independence Day Parade along Central Avenue in Highland Park, Illinois, Thursday, July 4, 2024, two years after the mass shooting at the parade. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

At least 20 people were killed, including 11 in Chicago, and dozens were injured nationwide in shootings and other acts of violence over the Fourth of July weekend, authorities said.

July 4 is historically one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A series of shootings during the holiday last year claimed the lives of more than a dozen people and injured more than 60. And the year before that, a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade claimed the lives of seven people near Chicago.

Violence and mass shootings often occur in the summer when people gather for social events, teenagers are out of school and temperatures are higher.

Multiple Deaths in Chicago, Beach Closed Early

In Chicago alone, 11 people have been killed and 55 wounded in shootings as of Friday morning during the July 4 extended weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. That violence included a mass shooting Thursday that killed two women and an 8-year-old boy.

Police said eight people were wounded in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood shortly after midnight Friday. About 90 minutes later, a shooting in the city’s Austin neighborhood wounded six people. Police said initial findings suggest the separate shootings involved an exchange of gunfire between two people who then fled.

Recent violence at a popular Lake Michigan beach in Chicago has prompted officials to close the beach early each night over the long weekend as a precaution. The beach at 31st Street has been the site of recent stabbings and shootings.

Violence in Southern California

In Huntington Beach, California, two people were killed and three others were injured in an Independence Day attack less than two hours after a fireworks show ended, police said. Authorities arrested a suspect after receiving a report of an assault with a dangerous weapon Thursday night.

Boy, 15, arrested in Niles, Ohio shooting; girl, 10, dies in Cleveland

Police Chief Jay Holland says a 15-year-old male was arrested in Niles, northeastern Ohio, after a 23-year-old man was fatally shot Thursday night at a home during a Fourth of July party.

A 10-year-old girl was fatally shot in a Cleveland neighborhood, police said. It was not yet known what sparked the shooting or whether she was targeted.

Fatal shooting in Philadelphia

A 19-year-old man was killed and six other people were injured in a drive-by shooting in Philadelphia on Thursday evening.

The injured, including four minors, were treated in hospitals for various injuries that were not considered life-threatening. It is not yet known what prompted the shooting.

Boston-area shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 injured

Three shootings have occurred in the Boston area after Fourth of July celebrations, leaving one man dead. The fatal shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. Friday at a park near Boston’s South End. At the same time, three other people were wounded in a shooting in the city’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. A third shooting at a gas station later left a victim with life-threatening injuries.

A 17-year-old man suffered an abdominal wound in another shooting that occurred around 9 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of an apartment building in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Connecticut woman fatally shot in car

In Hartford, Connecticut, a woman who was found shot in her car early Friday morning was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police identified her as Shamyria Williams, 23, of Hartford. Relatives told reporters they believed she had just left a Fourth of July party.

Earlier, police said they were called to a hospital in Hartford where a vehicle had brought in a 19-year-old man who had been shot and is currently in critical condition. On Wednesday evening, a man in his 20s arrived at the hospital with gunshot wounds after being taken away by ambulance while trying to walk to the hospital. Police said they do not believe the shootings are related.

Six teens shot dead in Albany, N.Y. home

Police in Albany, New York, said six teenagers were being treated in hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening after a shooting at a home that occurred at a large gathering. The victims were males between the ages of 16 and 19.

Police responded to reports of a shooting at a home around 12:15 a.m. Friday. No victims were found at the scene, but police said they found evidence of a shooting in the backyard and street.

Police said that moments later, one of the shot teenagers stopped officers in the street.

Tampa nightclub shooting leaves 4 injured

Four people were injured in a shooting Friday morning outside an adult nightclub in Tampa after an altercation between a club bouncer and two men, police said.

Two men drove up in a car outside the Pink Pussycat Lounge and one of them shot a security guard with a gun, police said. The security guard underwent surgery at a hospital and was in stable condition. Three other men who were not involved in the fight suffered unspecified minor injuries. Police said both suspects were arrested and charged with several crimes.

Earlier Thursday, a serving Cleveland police officer and a gunman who was making threats in Yellowstone National Park were also killed in shootings.

Shooting at unofficial North Carolina fireworks show kills 1

Police said a shooting occurred at an unofficial fireworks display in High Point, North Carolina, leaving one person dead. A large crowd gathered in a parking lot at the city, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Raleigh.

The victim was identified as Keith S. Lynch, 32. Police did not immediately provide information on what led up to the shooting.

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Associated Press reporters Rick Callahan in Indianapolis, Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, Steve LeBlanc in Boston, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report.