Trump Threatens to 'Send in the Feds' Because of Chicago 'Carnage'

Trump has repeatedly harped on the crime in Chicago.

ByABC News
January 25, 2017, 2:33 AM

— -- President Donald Trump threatened to "send in the Feds" to deal with the "carnage" in Chicago if the city doesn't fix the problem, he tweeted.

It's unclear where Trump obtained the aforementioned figures because they differ from those provided by the Chicago Police Department. A spokesperson for the department told ABC News on Tuesday that there have been 38 homicides -- not 42 -- and 182 shootings -- not 228 -- in 2017 so far.

And despite Trump's claim that shootings and killings are up 24 percent from last year, the police spokesperson said the "shooting incident number is identical and there were 33 homicides for the same period in 2016.”

Trump has taken a bleak outlook on the city and the thousands of shootings that took place there last year alone. During rallies, he frequently spoke of what he described as the horrors of the inner cities.

In 2016, there were some 3,550 shooting incidents and 762 murders in Chicago.

On Jan. 2, Trump said that if the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, can't fix the problem, "he must ask for Federal help."

It was not immediately clear exactly what Trump meant by "send in the Feds."

The number of murders in 2016 was the highest since 1996 when there were 796 and represent a 57 percent increase since 2015.

And on Jan. 1, 2017 alone 28 people were shot in the city.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Trump's Tuesday night tweet, but Emanuel criticized the president and his continued focus on the size of his inaugural crowd.

"This is unsolicited advice: You didn't get elected to debate the crowd size at your inaugural," Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement Tuesday night: "As the Mayor said just a few hours ago, the Chicago Police Department is more than willing to work with the federal government to build on our partnerships with DOJ, FBI, DEA and ATF and boost federal prosecution rates for gun crimes in Chicago."

On Tuesday, Emanuel told WTTW that "there’s a lot that federal government can do" and "I’ve been very specific about this."

Specifically, the mayor mentioned gun control, "back up our officers with federal resources" and "funding and being a partner in making sure our kids have good activities," according to WTTW.

"So in all aspects, the federal government can be a partner, and to be honest, they haven’t been for decades,” he added.

ABC News' Paola Chavez contributed to this report.

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