Chicago Homicide Rate Worse Than Kabul, LA and NYC

City turns into the wild, wild west this year.

The streets of Chicago are now officially a warzone.

Homicide victims in the Windy City this year have outnumbered U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan, according to The Daily.

A whopping 228 Chicago residents have been killed almost doubling the amount of Americans who have died in Afghanistan (144) in 2012. That is quadruple the rate of New York City forcing Chicago to allow officers to work overtime in an already cash-strapped city.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been under increased pressure to find a way to stem the violence. Rahm has cut some anti-violence programs as the city's economy continues to struggle.

[ALSO READ: Chicago Weekend Violence Leaves 40 Shot]

“Just look at what’s been happening every single weekend,” Daniel Gorman, vice president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, told The Daily. “Although we appreciate the overtime, we still can’t ignore that we’ve got a manpower crisis, and the recent violence in the city is proof of that crisis.”

Ander also blames budget cuts for contributing to the spike in shootings. As the city struggled to balance its budget, Emanuel’s administration has cut anti-violence programs targeting some of Chicago’s poorer neighborhoods by $9 million.

“It’s terrible to watch the nightly news spotlight the victims, many of them kids and ordinary people caught in the crossfire,” said Steve Swanson, an attorney who lives in the Wicker Park neighborhood. “What is striking is where most of these murders are taking place. Not surprisingly, they’re in poorer neighborhoods where gangs have been prevalent for decades.”

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