Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot voiced her outrage in the wake of Sunday morning’s shooting in Colorado Springs — but then took a beating on Twitter when critics pointed out the fact that she presides over a city where shootings are an everyday thing.
Lightfoot began by sharing a tweet from the Associated Press announcing the breaking news: “Colorado Springs police say 5 people are dead and 18 injured in a Colorado nightclub shooting.”
BREAKING: Colorado Springs police say 5 people are dead and 18 injured in a Colorado nightclub shooting. https://t.co/juKXZE6pYF
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2022
“I’m sick of this s***,” she added. “How many people need to be murdered? How many lives torn apart? Until it actually stops? We don’t have to live like this. And we don’t have to die like this.”
Critics immediately noticed the irony, calling Lightfoot out for the violent crime that is rampant in her city.
“Where is your outrage at the dozens of murders in your city every week? Gangs and criminals are running the place … not you,” ESPN reporter Jeannine Edwards said.
“Next Top Model” winner (Season 1) added, “YOU and your party have ran Chicago for over 60 years! This is YOUR fault and no one elses.”
“I’m not sure, but it seems like you might be in a position to do something about murders in Chicago,” radio host Dan O’Donnell suggested.
“Local arsonist laments the number of fires in the US as her city burns,” @Reverend_Ducati commented.
Local arsonist laments the number of fires in the US as her city burns: https://t.co/rOQaw3mF0E
— Rev. Ducati 🏁🏴☠️ (@Reverend_Ducati) November 21, 2022
“What’s the murder rate in Chi-Town and what are you doing about it?” Jeff Putnam added.
What’s the murder rate in Chi-Town and what are you doing about it? https://t.co/Gz0Wy4E4VR
— Jeff Putnam | Copywriter ✍ (@Rugged_Legacy) November 21, 2022
Breitbart’s Alana Mastrangelo added, “As the mayor of Chicago, you should probably sit this one out.”
“This is a real tweet. From the the Mayor of Chicago,” @Brinkofill tweeted. “The person in charge of a city known for its violent crime. And just in case she deletes, here is a screenshot …”
“More people than this were murdered this weekend in Chicago, I’ll bet. And that’s your fault,” actor Nick Searcy argued,” adding, “615 homicides in Chicago this year. Why aren’t you sick of that s***?”
615 homicides in Chicago this year. Why aren’t you sick of that shit?
— Nick Searcy, INTERNATIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR (@yesnicksearcy) November 21, 2022
St. Louis-based radio host Annie Frey summed her feelings up in just four words: “Start at home, Mayor.”
Lightfoot has said as recently as August that she believes her administration has been doing a good job of tackling crime in the city. “Our data-driven strategy recognizes that that’s where we need to put the lion’s share of our investments, our time, our education, our outreach,” she said. “The biggest challenge I think that we face is we’ve got to make sure that these young people put down the guns, and we’ve got to make more progress on carjackings.”
According to data from the Chicago Police Department, by July the city of Chicago had seen 7,400 guns taken off the streets and law enforcement had responded to about 1,000 carjackings.
