Two adolescents were shot in Millennium Park on Saturday night, and police in Chicago arrested fifteen people as big crowds gathered downtown. At about 9 o’clock that night, a shooting occurred in the zero hundred block of East Washington Street, according to the police.
A 16-year-old youngster had his arm shot by police, while a 17-year-old lad had his leg shot. Both patients were in stable condition when they were taken to Northwestern Hospital. Investigators haven’t been able to round up anyone yet.
The Chicago Police Department reported that officers responded to many large groups of youth “engaging in reckless and disruptive behavior” and “putting themselves and the public at risk for harm.” Nine adults and six minors were taken into custody.
A firearm was seized, and police said most of the charges were for reckless behavior. However, a 16-year-old kid was also charged with the unauthorized use of a weapon. Both an adult and a minor were arrested for being in the possession of a stolen vehicle.
massive numbers of police officers were present downtown as they sought to disperse the massive throng. Dozens of police were seen on camera blocking off the street at the intersection of Washington and State.
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“When I came back, this whole area was lined with – this street was blocked off by a wall of police up the next block,” said David Clark, who witnessed the Loop gathering. An earlier viewer submission on Saturday night showed a group of people jumping on a car on Michigan Avenue, captured on a cell phone.
On Sunday, both current Mayor Lori Lightfoot and incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson issued responses. In a statement, Lightfoot said, “parents and guardians must know where their children are and be responsible for their actions.” The mayor has met with CPD brass to discuss strategies for dealing with massive crowds as summer approaches in Chicago.
Johnson said the “destructive activity” was “unacceptable,” going on to say, ‘“however, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.” Similar violence occurred at massive rallies in the Loop only last summer. At the time, Seandell Holliday, 16, was fatally shot in Millennium Park.
Later, the city instituted a curfew for all juveniles in the city that took effect at 10 p.m. on weeknights and 6 p.m. on weekends. From her high-rise window overlooking Millennium Park, Elizabeth Cohen has seen it all, and now that summer is approaching, she’s hoping for some improvements to public safety in Chicago.
“It makes me nervous. And, I hope it will improve,” she said. “It’s hard to think that this is the beginning of the warm season, and it’s back to this. On Saturday, violence broke out at another large gathering, making it the second night in a row that this had happened.
On Friday night, a similar gathering at 31st Street Beach allegedly culminated in violence when a 14-year-old boy was shot in the thigh.
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