Protesters participate in anti-violence march in Chicago, the United States, Aug. 2, 2018. Hundreds of protesters marched through Chicago's iconic Lake Shore Drive on Thursday afternoon to draw public attention to gun violence and police misconduct. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

CHICAGO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of protesters marched through Chicago's iconic Lake Shore Drive on Thursday afternoon to draw public attention to gun violence and police misconduct.

Protesters gathered around 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) at the junction of Lake Shore Drive and Belmont Avenue. They unfurled different banners and posters with messages that read "Black Lives Matter! Demand Justice. Stop Police Crimes."

City plows and garbage trucks blocked traffic on Lake Shore Drive in the vicinity of the protest. It brought traffic to a standstill as motorists were forced to exit the roadway.

A spokesman for Chicago police said Lake Shore Drive was closed for about 35 minutes, as protesters marched toward Wrigley Field, the city's historic baseball stadium.

"It is time for us to pray, to pray for our city," said Gregory Livingston, one of the organizers.

"There are too many killings in Chicago, there are too many police-involved killings in Chicago," said another demonstration organizer, Tio Hardiman. "It's time to change the narrative in Chicago."

Chicago has recorded 252 homicides and 1,100 shootings in the first half of 2018, more than any other U.S. city, and the crimes have been concentrated in predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods.?