Chicago-area faith leaders called for prayers and action following a suspected assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, of St. Sabina Church in the city’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, told congregants Sunday they were waking up to an America where “nobody is safe.”
“We’re in a country where hate and violence and, most of all, guns have become a norm,” Pfleger told the Sun-Times.
A gunman fired shots during a Trump campaign rally Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania. Trump said he was struck in the ear but was doing “fine” after being rushed off stage, with blood streaming down his face.
One person was killed in the attack. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro identified the victim as Corey Comperatore, a former fire department chief from the area.
He died a “hero,” Shapiro said of Comperatore, who covered his wife and daughter, shielding them from gunfire.
The suspected gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was also killed.
Two additional victims, both men, were also shot but survived.
Pfleger said he hoped Saturday’s attack would spur both Democrats and Republicans to strengthen federal gun laws.
“Maybe America will come to some awaking that nobody is safe while we allow assault weapons and while we continue to have no common-sense gun laws in this country,” Pfleger told the Sun-Times.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich on Sunday called on worshipers to pray for Trump and his family.
“This is a moment of great risk in the history of our democracy,” Cupich said in a statement. “May God the Father enfold all his children in his loving embrace, encouraging us to listen to our better angels, to break the cycle of violence, and choose peace.”
The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also expressed “relief” that Trump could go home safely to his family.
But CAIR-Chicago also noted the “irony” that politicians who have “supported actions resulting in the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians, including 15,000+ children, will now speak out against violence as something that is never justifiable or acceptable.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
