Additional Coverage:
- Youth shot dead and eight injured during chaotic ‘teen takeover’ after Chicago tree-lighting (themirror.com)
Tragedy Strikes Chicago’s Holiday Kick-off: One Teen Dead, Eight Injured in Downtown Shootings
Chicago’s much-anticipated holiday festivities were marred by a night of violence on Friday, as separate shootings in the Loop left a 14-year-old boy dead and injured eight other teenagers. The incidents unfolded late in the evening, just as thousands gathered to celebrate the annual tree-lighting ceremony.
Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed the chaotic events, which he referred to as a “teen takeover,” stating that they “set us back as a city, and it evokes fear.” The attacks occurred mere moments after the festive ceremony in Millennium Park, near some of the city’s most iconic tourist destinations.
“The holiday season is a time when we come together as a city,” Mayor Johnson remarked on Saturday morning as investigations commenced. “This is the opposite type of behavior that anybody wants to see. We have too many guns and too many young people who don’t value their own lives or the lives of others.”
The first shooting, which wounded seven teenagers, took place around 9:50 p.m. in the 100 block of North State, near a theater. Police officers on patrol reported hearing gunshots, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
Less than an hour later, and just five blocks away, another shooting occurred. At approximately 10:40 p.m., officers discovered two individuals with gunshot wounds in the 100 block of South Dearborn.
A 14-year-old sustained multiple gunshot wounds and tragically died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The second victim, an 18-year-old, was transported to Northwestern in serious condition with a leg wound.
Authorities recovered five weapons and made 18 arrests in connection with the evening’s events, though Mayor Johnson clarified that those in custody were not considered suspects in the shootings.
“When we have a setback like this, it just reminds us of the long road that we have to build a city that we all want to live in,” Johnson added.
Reports of a “teen takeover” had circulated on social media prior to the tree-lighting ceremony, which drew an estimated 20,000 attendees. Chicago Public Schools officials had even sent messages to families, urging teenagers to avoid the unorganized gathering.
Despite the deployment of 700 additional police officers and community violence intervention workers for the festivities, Mayor Johnson acknowledged, “clearly what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting.”
“We will continue to make the necessary adjustments as we move along to ensure that these large, peaceful, citywide events can take place without the terror and the harm of gun violence,” the mayor affirmed.
Johnson concluded by emphasizing the city’s commitment to its youth: “I’m the first person to recognize that we have more work to do in this city to provide safe spaces for our young people. But these types of violent gatherings can never be an alternative, nor can they be normalized. There’s always more we as adults can do to make sure that we know where our kids are and what they are doing.”