President Donald Trump criticized Chicago’s latest surge of gun violence after a weekend that left multiple people dead and dozens wounded, arguing that state leaders have not asked for federal help he says could quickly change the city’s public-safety picture.
Fox News Digital reported that six people were killed and 39 others were shot across Chicago over the weekend. Chicago police said 13 people were shot in a mass drive-by in the Princeton Park neighborhood Friday night. According to police, two suspects opened fire on a crowd after an SUV pulled up. “Offenders from inside the vehicle began firing gunshots towards the crowd before fleeing the scene. Multiple victims sustained gunshot wounds and were transported to local hospitals,” the Chicago Police Department said. All of the weekend shootings remain under investigation.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, issued a brief statement on X after the Princeton Park attack. “I am heartbroken by the violence in Princeton Park last night. What should have been a night of celebration and community reflection for Juneteenth was shattered by a horrific act of violence. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones,” he wrote.
Trump answered on Truth Social with a sharper tone and different preliminary numbers than later police tallies. “Lots of Killing going on in Chicago. 22 people shot, at least 4 Dead. Why isn’t Governor Pritzker calling me for help. I could make Chicago a safe City in ONE MONTH, in ONE YEAR, it would be one of the safest!!! D.C. went from one of the worst, to one of the safest cities in the U.S. President DJT.” Police later released compiled weekend figures that were higher than the totals in Trump’s first post.
The president tied the Chicago weekend to his broader claim that federal intervention can reverse urban crime. Last year he sent hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., as part of an effort to crack down on crime in the capital. He has repeatedly cited that deployment as evidence that a similar approach could work in Chicago.
That D.C. argument is now colliding with a separate controversy over how the city’s crime numbers were recorded. At least 13 officials in the Metropolitan Police Department have reportedly been terminated or disciplined after an internal investigation into allegations that leaders manipulated statistics to make Washington look safer than it was.
Local reporting, later amplified by lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee, said senior officials allegedly downgraded serious offenses into lesser categories so fewer violent crimes appeared in public data. The probe reportedly led to termination notices for Second District Commander Tatjana Savoy and former Third District Commander Michael Pulliam, plus at least one captain and other supervisors. Pulliam had already been suspended last year after accusations that violent crimes were reclassified as lower-profile offenses. Investigators reportedly concluded the practice was more widespread than first believed, spanning multiple districts and layers of leadership.
The dispute is politically charged because city officials and national Democrats had pointed to falling D.C. crime statistics as proof that public safety was improving, even as residents continued to complain about carjackings, robberies, assaults, and other street crime. An earlier committee report described pressure from leadership on district commanders to “fix” crime numbers and create “the perception of low crime in the District.” Critics say reclassifying assaults, robberies, and similar offenses distorts public understanding, policy choices, and trust in police.
The scandal also reaches charging decisions. Jeanine Pirro recently said federal prosecutors reviewing Metropolitan Police cases had upgraded some assault and firearms charges because suspects appeared to have been undercharged by local authorities.
Together, the Chicago weekend and the D.C. statistics fight have become part of the same national argument: whether violent-crime numbers and city leadership responses match what residents experience, and whether federal force or local policy is the better answer. Chicago police say the latest shootings are still being investigated. In Washington, the personnel actions and congressional scrutiny continue as Trump holds up the capital as a model he wants applied elsewhere.
