Chicago endured a violent Labor Day weekend with at least 54 people shot, seven of them fatally, as President Donald Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sparred over whether the National Guard should be deployed to the city.
Weekend of Gun Violence
Between Friday evening and Monday noon, police recorded 32 separate shootings across Chicago. Victims ranged from teenagers to adults caught in crossfire.
A 17-year-old girl was struck in the arm when a bullet came through her front window.
A 25-year-old woman was shot three times Friday evening and later died at a hospital.
A 31-year-old man was hit in crossfire between gunmen in opposing vehicles.
Two others were wounded while driving down a street during the holiday weekend.
In one of the worst incidents, seven people were shot around 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Bronzeville, just hours after Trump criticized Pritzker on social media. All seven victims are expected to recover.
Trump Calls Pritzker “Weak and Pathetic”
Trump blasted the governor in a Saturday Truth Social post, calling him “weak and pathetic” for rejecting a National Guard presence.
The president warned that “we’re coming” if Pritzker doesn’t “straighten it out, FAST,” suggesting federal intervention could be on the horizon.
Pritzker Pushes Back
Pritzker dismissed Trump’s threat, saying there is no justification for troops in Chicago.
“National Guard troops or any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don’t belong unless there is an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency – and there is not,” Pritzker said.
He vowed to sue the Trump administration if federal forces are deployed. “It’s an invasion with U.S. troops, if they in fact do that. They’ll be in court pretty quickly,” he warned.
