CHICAGO — Thousands of anti-violence protesters marched along a Chicago interstate on Saturday, shutting down traffic to draw attention to the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods and pressure public officials to do more to stop it.

Marchers chanted, “Stop the killing,” and carried signs reading, “We need jobs,” and other messages. Some stopped to scrawl on the road with chalk: “Enough is enough” and “Peace.” Toward the front of the march the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest on the city’s South Side who organized the protest; Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson; and the Rev. Jesse Jackson linked arms.

“The people won today because the people showed up,” Pfleger said.