Chicago became the largest city in the United States to pass a resolution calling for an end to violence in Gaza, the conclusion to a monthlong battle over the issue during which violence in Chicago’s own streets surged.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who campaigned on a comprehensive criminal justice platform, broke the tie vote on the measure, allowing it to narrowly pass the City Council on Wednesday. The resolution calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Gaza, which began after Hamas attacked the Jewish state on Oct. 7. However, the resolution essentially does not affect the status of the conflict and is merely symbolic.

Johnson had to clear the council chambers due to disruptions from a crowd filled mostly by pro-ceasefire spectators, the second time he has done so. Support for Wednesday’s resolution was bolstered by Chicago Public Schools students who were allowed to join Tuesday walkouts in support of an end to the violence abroad, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Students living in Chicago’s North and West Side neighborhoods often have to fear violence in their own backyards. The Windy City recorded 617 murders and 2,450 shootings in 2023, with its murder rate recorded at five times that of New York City, according to Chicago Police Department data.

Between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28, Chicago police responded to 37 shooting reports, two more than the 35 reported during the same time period last year, according to CPD data. Seven murders were also reported in the same seven-day period, which is slightly down compared to previous years.

Several high school students have been shot and killed in recent weeks this year, as well. On Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the City Council vote, three Chicago Public Schools students were shot, one fatally, in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side. The three victims were between ages 15 and 16 and attended Senn High School. A gunman inside a vehicle got out and opened fire at the teenagers around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters Wednesday evening.

“My heart bleeds with our city tonight after more unspeakable violence against our children today. No family deserves this pain,” Johnson said in a post on X following the shootings. “We must value human life in Chicago, and continue our work toward safety, toward respecting humanity, and toward healing the scars of our communities.”

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Five days before the Edgewater shootings, two teenage boys attending Innovations High School were shot and killed outside the building as classes were dismissed. Johnson put out a similar statement on X, calling it a “senseless act of violence.”

Johnson received heavy backlash from social media users on Wednesday criticizing him for caring more about a symbolic foreign policy stance over real-time crime issues plaguing the city. One user wrote that Johnson needed to call for a ceasefire “in your own city.” Another blasted the council for wasting “time and funds on passing a nonsensical ceasefire overseas that will do nothin, while Chicagoans are dying in our streets.”