A 14-year-old was killed and multiple teens were wounded during two shootings in downtown Chicago Friday night. The incidents took place after the city’s annual tree-lighting ceremony.
Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters at a Saturday press conference that seven people were shot at around 10 p.m. Moments later, there was another shooting just a few blocks away, where there were two additional victims. The 14-year-old who died sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the second incident.
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Five guns were recovered at the scene, and 18 people were arrested.
“No parent certainly wants to get that terrible, life-altering call,” Johnson said. “It is senseless violence like these shootings that make us all feel unsafe, and it has left too many families in Chicago reeling.”
He acknowledged the “emotional whiplash” residents might feel, especially when shortly before the shooting, it had been “a joyous evening, a vision of the best of Chicago.”
The Chicago Police Department is investigating the shootings. Johnson said there isn’t currently evidence to suggest the two incidents were related.
City officials, along with the police department and Chicago Public Schools (CPS), had been monitoring social media this week for information about a potential teen takeover, Johnson said. In preparation, 700 additional officers were deployed to the area Friday night, as well as community violence intervention workers.
“Clearly, what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting,” Johnson said Saturday. “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.”
On Twitter Friday night, Alderman Brian Hopkins said there were “300 juveniles rioting in the Loop,” while multiple officers were attacked and injured with mace and stun guns.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that officials said no officer was hospitalized. Straight Arrow News reached out to the Chicago Police Department for clarification on injuries to officers.
One day after the incident, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social that 300 people were “rioting” and that others had been shot in the Chicago Loop area.
Trump criticized Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Johnson for “refusing Federal Government help for a situation that could be quickly remedied.” Trump, earlier this year, sent National Guard troops into Chicago and other cities, citing violent crime in these locations. Illinois officials condemned the decision and sued the federal government over the deployment.
Asked about the possibility of the shootings putting Chicago back in the “national spotlight,” Johnson said that the city’s law enforcement “has done a solid job working with all of our partners to bring violence out in the city of Chicago.”
“We’ll make the adjustments as we continue to build the safest, most affordable big city in America,” he said.
He also accused the Trump administration of taking credit for progress the city is making when it comes to combating crime. Citywide statistics show violent crime, including murder and sexual assault, is down compared to a year ago.
