President Donald Trump shared a social media post claiming that more than 273 people had been shot in Chicago since the start of the Iran war.
A review of City of Chicago records by Newsweek found a substantially higher toll. Between February 28, when the conflict began, and July 5, 523 people were shot in Chicago, according to the city’s gunshot victim database. Of those victims, 46 were killed, and 477 were wounded.
The city’s database tracks individual gunshot victims rather than shooting incidents. Each entry represents a person who was struck by gunfire, whether fatally or nonfatally.
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The U.S.-Iran conflict began after Israel launched strikes on Iranian targets, triggering a regional confrontation that drew in the United States.
Roughly 16 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 500 injured in the conflict to date.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, the Chicago Police Department and the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump has frequently pointed to Chicago when discussing crime and public safety, while the city has become a recurring political battleground in wider debates over policing, gun violence and Democratic leadership of major urban areas.
What To Know
Trump reposted a graphic on Truth Social that said that “over 273 Americans have been shot since the war in Iran began … in Chicago.”
Chicago’s data show the figure cited in the post falls far below the number of people recorded as shooting victims during the same period.
The figure comes from the City of Chicago’s publicly available gunshot victim database, which tracks individual people who were struck by gunfire. Each entry represents a person rather than a shooting incident, meaning the total counts victims rather than events and includes both fatal and non-fatal injuries. The database is updated on an ongoing basis as police reports are filed and cases are reviewed, and entries may be reclassified over time as investigations progress.
Illinois requires a Firearm Owner’s Identification card to possess or buy guns or ammunition and a separate license to carry a concealed handgun in public. Open carry is generally prohibited, and Illinois does not recognize concealed carry permits from other states. Firearm purchases are subject to a 72-hour waiting period.
State law also restricts certain semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, bans guns in many public places such as schools and government buildings, and prohibits possession by certain convicted felons and other restricted individuals.
After a series of weekend shootings in June left several people dead and dozens wounded, Trump renewed calls for federal intervention in the city, saying he could make Chicago “a safe City” if Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sought his assistance.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 21.
Federal authorities previously conducted high-profile immigration enforcement operations in Chicago under initiatives such as Midway Blitz, which targeted individuals without legal status.
The operation was part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy of increased federal presence in select cities.
While the origin of the 273 figure remains unclear, Chicago’s official data show that the number of people shot since the start of the conflict is well above that total, showing how a widely shared statistic understated the scale of gun violence recorded in the city during the same period.