Gunfire shattered Chicago’s Labor Day weekend, leaving seven dead and 37 wounded in a brutal reminder of the city’s unyielding violence.
Fox News reported that over the holiday weekend in 2025, Chicago endured a wave of unrelated shootings across its neighborhoods, with victims including at least two women and three men, though police withheld names and other details.
The carnage mirrors earlier holidays, with 55 shot over July 4 and 22 over Memorial Day, signaling a grim pattern. City data reports 272 homicides this year, 225 from gunfire alone.
Most incidents saw no arrests, leaving communities grasping for answers while police struggled to curb the bloodshed.
Chicago’s decades-long battle with gun violence shows no signs of abating. The numbers paint a stark picture: a city under siege, with solutions seemingly out of reach.
Amid the chaos, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on September 1, 2025, barring Chicago police from aiding federal law enforcement, including the National Guard.
“This president is not going to come in and deputize our police,” Johnson declared, framing his move as a stand for local control. His order ensures cops stick to state and local laws, shunning federal patrols or immigration enforcement.
Johnson’s defiance reeks of political posturing, prioritizing optics over outcomes in a city drowning in violence. His claim to “protect our Constitution” rings hollow when bullets claim lives unchecked. Chicagoans deserve leadership that confronts crime head-on, not symbolic gestures that dodge accountability.
The mayor’s rhetoric escalates tensions with Washington, where President Trump has floated deploying the National Guard to tame Chicago’s streets.
Johnson warned against “tanks in our streets” and families “ripped apart” by federal overreach. Such hyperbole inflames fears but sidesteps the body count piling up under his watch.
The White House shot back, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson slamming Democrats for politicizing crime. “If these Democrats focused on fixing crime instead of publicity stunts, their communities would be safer,” she said. Her words cut through the noise, exposing the disconnect between Johnson’s defiance and the city’s desperate need for results.
Trump’s push for federal intervention, while heavy-handed, reflects frustration with Chicago’s inability to stem the tide of violence.
The idea of National Guard deployment isn’t ideal—nobody wants militarized streets—but ignoring the crisis isn’t a strategy either. Johnson’s executive order feels more like a middle finger to Trump than a plan to save lives.
Chicago’s police, caught in the middle, face an impossible task: enforce laws while barred from federal partnerships that could bolster resources.
The mayor’s order ties their hands, potentially undermining efforts to tackle crime syndicates or illegal firearms. It’s a baffling choice when every tool is needed to stop the bleeding.
The weekend’s toll—seven dead, 37 injured—underscores a city stretched thin by relentless shootings. Two women and three men were among the fatalities, with police mum on the others’ identities. The lack of arrests in most cases fuels distrust, as justice remains elusive for grieving families.
Chicago’s gun violence isn’t new; it’s a decades-old scar that festers with each holiday spike. Memorial Day saw 22 shot, July 4 saw 55, and now Labor Day adds to the grim tally. These aren’t just numbers—they’re lives snuffed out, families shattered, and neighborhoods paralyzed.
Johnson’s claim to “protect our people” falls flat when his policies leave police hamstrung and communities vulnerable.
His fear of federal “vans” snatching grandmothers is a distraction from the real threat: unchecked violence claiming Chicagoans daily. Leadership demands more than catchy soundbites.
The White House’s jab at “publicity stunts” isn’t wrong—Johnson’s order seems more about scoring points than saving lives. Yet Trump’s saber-rattling about the National Guard risks escalating tensions without addressing root causes like poverty or gang influence. Both sides need to ditch the grandstanding and focus on what works.
Chicago’s 272 homicides this year demand a unified response, not a tug-of-war between city hall and the White House.
Federal resources could help, but only if paired with local strategies that rebuild trust and target criminals, not citizens. Johnson’s blanket rejection of federal aid feels like cutting off the city’s nose to spite its face.
