Trump sends 'federal help' to Chicago

US President Donald Trump says he's sending federal help to Chicago because crime and killings have reached "epidemic proportions".

US President Donald Trump says he's sending federal help to fight crime in Chicago that has reached "epidemic" proportions.

The president, who in January decried the high crime rate in the Midwestern US city as "carnage," did not specify what type of help he planned to send.

"Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!" Trump wrote in an early morning Twitter post.