Scores of adults and several children are dead, after a spike in gun violence during the U.S. Independence Day holiday weekend.

Shootings in cities including Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Alabama, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, have led to renewed calls to end gun violence. 

Both Chicago and New York reported an increase in incidents compared to the same time period last year.

According to The Trace, a non-profit news website covering U.S. gun violence, preliminary research from the University of California, Davis, found a possible link between a rise in gun violence and an increased sale of guns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between March and May, the university study found, 2.1 million more guns were sold compared to normal demand.

Eight-year-old Secoriea Turner was killed on Saturday in Atlanta.

Turner was riding in a car with her mother and a friend, when multiple shots were fired at them as they tried to enter a parking lot. 

The shooting happened near the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by police last month, leading to more protests in the city. 

Seven-year-old Natalia Wallace was playing with a group of other kids in a Chicago neighborhood when three people got out of a car and shot at another group of people nearby.

A suspect is in custody and charged with killing Natalia, who police say was caught in the crossfire of gang violence.

In Washington, D.C., another young boy was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. 

11-year-old Davon McNeal was on his way into his grandmother's house when he was hit in the head by a bullet.

Officials say several factors may be fueling the spike in violence, including the pandemic, unemployment, gang and/or drug violence and tensions with local police.

Rev. Gregory Livingston told the Guardian, "Chicago is, woefully, a tale of two cities, and across the country it's a tale of two Americas. Chicago is a very segregated city, and that legacy is part of what’s fueling this horrific violence."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed the coronavirus, and shutdowns within the criminal court system as contributing to the violence.

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