Chicago warning: Watch out NYC, crime wave coming

Big Apple: Meet Windy City. Chicago residents who see first-hand the ravages of gun-related violence say New York City’s inability to stop and frisk suspicious characters − due to a federal judge’s recent crackdown on the policy − means the Big Apple’s crime rate will soon mirror that of the Windy City’s.

“If crime rates are down in New York, don’t stop what you’re doing. Don’t test the water,” said Nathaniel Pendleton, whose daughter, 15, was shot a week after she sang at President Obama’s inauguration, The New York Post reported.

Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin said the city’s stop-and-frisk policies were unconstitutional during a Monday ruling. And Mr. Pendleton says that judge may soon have to face the bleak consequences of her decision.

“Can you sleep at night if someone gets shot because a cop couldn’t search someone they know has a gun?” he said, in The Post. He also said that had Chicago police possessed the ability to stop-and-frisk suspects, his daughter might still be alive.

“If [Chicago police] did it, they would find a lot more guns,” he said, in The Post.

Mr. Pendleton’s not alone in his view. A New York City Police Department officer said on Monday, minutes after the ruling, that the city’s crime rate was about to soar. And other Chicago residents predicted similarly.

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SEE ALSO: Former New York Gov. Pataki: Stop-and-frisk tactic has helped city

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“I think New York’s going to be in trouble,” said one Chicago dad whose daughter, 7, named Heaven, was killed by a stray bullet outside her home last year. “Unfortunately, some parents are going to experience what I’m going through. It never leaves your mind. I will forever mourn her. I will forever be in grief.”

And one more Chicago resident, The Post reported: “If more people are allowed to carry guns in New York, little girls will die there, too.”

Last year, Chicago topped the nation in murder rates. New York, which has three times the population, still had 100 fewer killings.