Chicago witnessed eight killings over the long Labor Day weekend, ending the summer as the city’s least violent in over 60 years.
The 122 killings documented in June, July and August marked Chicago’s lowest summertime homicide total since 1965.
Records show an additional 10 people have been killed in September, including in eight homicides from Friday evening through Monday night. Police said 38 people were shot over the weekend, with five teenagers among those wounded.
It’s a move in the right direction after nine people were killed and 52 wounded during last year’s Labor Day weekend, a trend that Mayor Brandon Johnson acknowledged during a press event Tuesday.
“One act of violence — one shooting, one homicide — is one too many,” Mr. Johnson said. “It’s why we have worked hard to provide a full-force-of-government approach to reduce violence in our city.”
The June-August homicide total was just under last year’s 129 slayings during that stretch, which at the time made waves for setting a modern low in a city that often sees deadly shootings explode over long weekends.
This has proven to be a banner year for public safety in the Windy City, at least during the warmer months.
Chicago recorded only one shooting death over Memorial Day weekend — when a toddler got hold of a gun and accidentally shot himself. Despite 26 people being wounded during the May holiday, it was the city’s least violent Memorial Day weekend since 2010.
The city observed its safest Fourth of July holiday in seven years in 2026, which fell on a Saturday this year. Authorities said five people were killed along with 24 wounded — three by stabbing, 21 by gunshots — amid the weekend celebrations.
Chicago police said the 37 homicides recorded in July were the city’s lowest total for the month since at least 1970.
August saw strong progress as well, with police saying last month’s 39 killings signaled the lowest total since 2011.
Even with the improvements throughout the summer, police data show the city is experiencing a slight increase in homicides in 2026. Chicago has logged 299 homicides as of Tuesday compared with 295 by that date last year.
Chicago is roughly on pace to match the 416 homicides recorded in 2025, which was the city’s lowest number of killings since 1965 for a calendar year.
The decline in slayings represents a sharp turnaround from the generational spike in violence during the COVID-era crime wave.
In 2021, city police recorded 271 killings in June, July and August. That was during a year in which Chicago suffered 797 homicides — its highest total since 1996.
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