President Donald Trump pointed to the need for immediate action regarding gun crime in Chicago, asking what the hell is going on in the city during his Friday speech on crime and immigration.
“What the hell is going on in Chicago? What the hell is happening there?” Trump said during a speech to local and state enforcement officer at the FBI Headquarters in Quantico, Va.
“In the last two years, America has seen a tragic rise in violent crime. In 2015 and 2016, we witnessed the steepest two year consecutive increase in murders in nearly half a century,” Trump said.
Trump on crime in Chicago: “What the hell is going on in Chicago? What the hell is happening there?” pic.twitter.com/HMTANkGYSz
— Axios (@axios) December 15, 2017
Chicago saw 762 homicides in 2016 — more than New York and Los Angeles combined, marking an incredible 57 percent increase from 2015.
Much of the violence can be attributed to the traffic of illegal guns that enter Chicago through lone dealers, not large trafficking organizations. This makes legislative action to stop the flow difficult. Police researchers say that most illegal guns come from nearby states like Indiana and Iowa after being stolen or resold by their original owners, according to an October report. (RELATED: Chicago Police Know Where Gun Violence Is Coming From, But They Can’t Stop It).
WATCH:
Chicago has witnessed over 435 deaths in 2017, and its holiday weekends — including Independence Day, Memorial Day and Father’s Day — each saw more than 50 shootings. (RELATED: Chicago Endures 30 Shootings, 4 Fatalities Over Labor Day Weekend).
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