At least seven people were killed and 37 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over Labor Day weekend, even as the city’s mayor pushes back against President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting plans.
Police said the shootings happened in separate incidents, most of which did not lead to arrests. President Trump has suggested sending the National Guard and federal agents to address violence in the city.
The victims so far include at least two women and three men. Police said the other two people killed have not yet been identified.
On Saturday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order stopping local police from working with federal authorities.
“This executive order makes it clear that this president is not going to come in and deputize our police department,” Johnson said at a news conference with other city leaders.
The order states that Chicago police will keep enforcing state and local laws but will not join federal agents or the National Guard in patrols, arrests, immigration enforcement, or other law enforcement actions.
“We will protect our Constitution, we will protect our city, and we will protect our people,” Johnson said. “We do not want to see tanks in our streets. We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. We don’t want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents.”
The White House rejected Johnson’s move on Saturday, saying Democrats were trying to make crime prevention political.
“If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the President, their communities would be much safer,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Reuters.
Chicago has long struggled with gun violence. Over the July 4 weekend this year, 55 people were shot and six were killed. During Memorial Day weekend in May, 22 people were shot and two died.
According to city records, Chicago has reported 272 homicides so far in 2025, including 225 from gun violence.
