At least 54 people were triggered, seven of them fatally, in Chicago during the weekend of Labor Day, police said, including a shooting that left seven people injured.
The shootings occurred when President Donald Trump renewed the threats of sending federal agents and national guard troops to Chicago, a measure opposed by the governor of Illinois JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Trump wrote on Saturday that Pritzker “better straightens him, fast, or we are coming!”
Pritzker had previously called the “unprecedented and unjustified idea. It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is not American.”
Johnson also said he had “serious concerns about the impact of any illegal deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Chicago”, calling Trump’s approach “uncoordinated, without passing and not very solid.”
On Saturday, Johnson signed an executive order entitled “Chicago Protection Initiative”, which described as “the most radical campaign of any city in the country to protect us from the threats and actions of this administration out of control.”
He said the order “orders our LAW department to seek each and every legal mechanisms to hold this administration responsible for violating the rights of Chicago.” Johnson added: “We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city see some type of militarized activity by the federal government.”
Between Friday night and Monday at noon, the police recorded at least 32 separate shootings. The victims included a 17 -year -old girl beaten by a bullet who entered her house, a man fired in her leg during crossfire and other injured while driving.
Less than five hours after Trump’s social media post, seven people were injured in a massive shooting in Bronzeville’s neighborhood.
Police said a vehicle led to a group in South State Street around 11:10 pm on Saturday, and someone inside opened fire. The victims, aged between 28 and 32, were taken to hospitals with legs and feet. No arrests have been made.
The first homicide of the weekend occurred on Friday night in South Shore, where two women were shot inside an apartment. A 25 -year -old woman died, while a 23 -year -old woman was hospitalized. Other fatal shootings occurred in East Garfield Park, Altgeld Gardens, Pilsen, West Inglewood, Pullman and Little Village. The victims were between 26 and 48.
The early hours of Monday, five people were shot in Oakland, including a 17 -year -old boy who was seriously injured. Four weapons were recovered on the scene, and a person of interest was being questioned. Later that morning, a 48 -year -old man was seriously injured in West Elsdon.
The shootings occurred while Trump continued to threaten more federal deployments. He has said that he wants cities to request federal aid, but also warned that he can send troops without such applications. Pritzker backed up last week, saying: “Do not come to Chicago, you are neither desired or needed here. Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a city of the United States to punish its dissidents and score political points. If this happened in any other country, we would not have problems calling it, a dangerous-conformment of power.”
Despite the violent weekend, city data shows that the crime has decreased this year. Officials report that shootings have dropped 37%, homicides 32%and the violent general crime of more than 22%compared to the same period in 2024.
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