(CNN) — President Donald Trump, for the first time since taking office, has tweeted about violence in Chicago, saying: “I will send in the Feds” if they don’t fix the “horrible ‘carnage'” going on.
He tweeted about the shootings there in early January, saying at the time as President-elect: “If Mayor can’t do it he must ask for Federal help.”
Tuesday night he wrote, “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds.”
The Chicago Police Department tells CNN there have been 38 homicides and 182 shooting incidents in the city so far in 2017. Chicago Police only report homicides. They are not necessarily all shooting deaths.
Trump has previously encouraged Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to ask for federal assistance.
And often on the campaign trail, Trump would mention Chicago while suggesting that controversial tactics such as stop-and-frisk could help address the issue.
“A policy like stop-and-frisk could save thousands of lives in a city like Chicago, just like it saved thousands of lives in New York. Overwhelmingly, this will save African-American and Hispanic lives — citizens who are entitled to the same protections as every American,” Trump said during a September rally in Florida.
