# Proof Narrative: More Americans were killed in Chicago shootings over a four-week period in March 2026 than US service members killed in action in the US-Israel Iran war to date.

## Verdict

**Verdict: PROVED**

More people died from gunfire on Chicago's streets in any four-week stretch of March 2026 than US troops killed by enemy fire in the entire Iran war — and it's not even close.

## What Was Claimed?

The claim draws a stark comparison between two very different forms of American casualties: domestic gun violence in a single city versus combat deaths in a military conflict abroad. It asserts that Chicago's shooting death toll over just four weeks in March 2026 exceeded the total number of US service members killed in action during the US-Israel military operation against Iran (Operation Epic Fury), which began on February 28, 2026.

This kind of comparison matters because it puts wartime casualties in the context of everyday violence at home — a juxtaposition that has been used in public discourse for decades, from Iraq War comparisons to Vietnam-era debates.

## What Did We Find?

The military side of the comparison is well-documented. According to the Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System, reported by Military Times on April 8, 2026, seven US service members were killed by enemy fire (the standard definition of "killed in action") during Operation Epic Fury. Six additional service members died in a KC-135 refueling aircraft accident classified as "non-hostile," bringing the total to 13 US military deaths. A ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect on April 8, with no additional fatalities reported since.

On the Chicago side, the city recorded 41 homicides in March 2026 — a 16% increase over March 2025, as reported by NBC Chicago citing CPD crime statistics. Of Chicago's 124 total homicides year-to-date, 112 (about 90%) were from gunshot wounds, according to HeyJackass.com's tracker sourced from CPD, fire department, and Medical Examiner data. Applying that rate to March's 41 homicides gives approximately 37 shooting deaths for the full month. Even taking just a four-week (28-day) window — the most conservative reading of the claim — that's at least 33 fatal shootings.

The numbers aren't close. Chicago's conservative four-week minimum of 33 shooting deaths is nearly five times the 7 US troops killed in action. Even comparing against all 13 US military deaths (including the non-combat aircraft accident), Chicago's toll exceeds it by more than 2.5 times.

Weekend shooting reports from CBS Chicago corroborate the monthly figures: at least 12 people were killed in shooting incidents across just three weekends in the period, consistent with the overall daily death rate.

## What Should You Keep In Mind?

The proof uses conservative estimates throughout. The actual number of Chicago shooting deaths in March is likely slightly higher than the 33 minimum used here, since the 90% shooting-death rate and the 28/31 four-week adjustment both push the figure downward. The "41 homicides in March" figure comes from CPD data reported by multiple independent outlets but was not available from a single official CPD source document that could be directly fetched.

The military casualty figures reflect official Pentagon data, which The Intercept has reported may undercount wounded service members. However, the killed count (7 KIA / 13 total) has not been disputed by any source.

It is worth noting that the Iran war involved a relatively brief period of active combat (roughly 40 days before the ceasefire), and "killed in action" is the narrowest standard military casualty classification. A longer or more intense conflict would naturally produce higher military casualties — this comparison reflects a specific moment in time.

## How Was This Verified?

This claim was verified using the Proof Engine methodology: every factual assertion is backed by a citation that was machine-verified against its source page, every number was extracted programmatically from source text, and adversarial checks were performed to search for counter-evidence. All seven citations were verified with full-quote matching. You can read [the structured proof report](proof.md) for the evidence table, [the full verification audit](proof_audit.md) for citation and cross-check details, or [re-run the proof yourself](proof.py) to reproduce the results.
